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Sydney Rd Activity Centres: Planning Minister hears community’s climate concerns

On Tuesday, 17th  March, local community members met at a Round Table with Hon. Sonya Kilkenny, Minister for Planning. The Round Table was convened by Pascoe Vale MP Anthony Cianflone at Merri-bek Council offices. The purpose of the event was a briefing on the Victorian Government’s Central Coburg and Sydney Rd Draft Activity Centre Plans.

The Assemble development on the former Velour factory site on Sydney Rd north of Bell St – photo Maggie Cowling.

Merri-bek City Council outlined their submission on the draft State Plans, and provided an overview of Council’s own Draft Central Coburg Activity Centre plans and proposals.

Representatives of local community groups including Climate Action Merri-bek, local schools, organisations for youth, health and homelessness, and other stakeholders were given the opportunity to convey their views, priorities and feedback to the Minister nd Council.

Amongst the feedback, was broad acknowledgement of benefits to our community of measures that would improve open spaces, accessibility and vibrancy of central Coburg. There were also concerns about the impacts of increased population density resulting from these developments.

Feedback from community groups present included:

  • Better Public Transport: Urgent need to improve the Upfield Line which remains the most infrequent in Melbourne; frequent bus services (10min intervals) that connect to other transport services and operate evenings and weekends; accessible tram stops as planned and budgeted and overdue. These improvements should precede high-rise developments.
  • Congestion: one of our local private schools brought up the issue of traffic congestion already experienced by parents at school pickup and worried the population increase will worsen congestion. All the schools expressed concerns around student safety with current traffic conditions, hopefully ameliorated with new speed restrictions. Interestingly, Coburg High School noted that a recent survey found some 86% of their students walk or use active or public transport to and from school. These stats reinforced the need to improve these forms of transport ahead of any development.
  • Green Open Space: around the table the importance of green space was acknowledged, and ‘spongey’ permeable surfaces for health, informal recreation, flood mitigation, community connection, urban biodiversity. The Council’s plans adds green spaces, but there was concern that Council has also conceded green space for private concerns (independent school in Coburg with limited public access to facilities) while having to buy back space for pocket gardens elsewhere.
  • Housing availability: our community faces significant problems directly related to insufficient affordable housing.  Vulnerable members of our community will face compounding problems as climate impacts worsen. It is crucial developers fulfil promised affordable housing quotas and design that buffers climate extremes.
  • Rooftop solar: higher rise housing will create “overshadowing”  for households that have purchased roof-top solar. CAM asked if this would be compensated, and not just financially: people put solar on their roofs for climate mitigation as well as cost effectiveness – how can their efforts be recompensed?
  • Environmentally Sustainable Design: CAM acknowledged the work of the Council Alliance for a Sustainable Built Environment (CASBE) – an alliance  of 27 Victorian Councils including Merri-bek CASBE drafted the “Elevating ESD [Environmentally Sustainable Design] targets” proposal which was presented to the Planning Minister for signing off 3 years ago. It is understood that the state Planning Minister has to sign off on any local government planning amendments. This collaboration of consensus was an opportunity to ease the process. The proposal has yet to be approved despite being with the Minister for 3 years.  In the meantime, (i.e. 6 months ago) the State Activity Centres Program was introduced. Although the program is not entirely at odds with the CASBE proposal it does not achieve all the environmentally sustainable targets sought by the councils. This would seem to be a missed opportunity.

One of the participants at the Round Table, Carlo Carli, pointed out the stark impression the current Assemble development on Sydney Rd north of Bell St (on the site of the old Velour factory) presents. It was suggested locals are unlikely to warm to higher density living if it looks like this (see photo above) and if developers shirk their promised targets of affordable housing. It is understood that Assemble had promised 60% and has now reduced it to 20% – the state’s minimum requirement is 10%, but after 10 years of rent to buy, this will effectively be negated to 0 for future purchases). The development does promise a ‘green spine’ for light, ventilation and community, and it is stepped back from Sydney Rd.

CAM appreciates the opportunity presented by the Round Table and Anthony Cianflone MP’s initiative in organising it, along with the Minister’s availability.

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