“Brumby’s planning law bypass”, The Age, 21/5; “Constructing a city behind closed doors”, 20/5. The Brumby State Government continues to change planning laws under the excuse of creating jobs, without caring what impact this will have on the residents who have to endure ugly and inappropriate development. Some letters from today’s The Age:
Residents left to deal with fallout
Having spent a day at VCAT this week and many hours preparing a submission in support of our council, which had refused a permit for a box apartment block for an otherwise single-dwelling residential street, we are dismayed at what may be built under the State Government’s takeover of planning regulations.
We argued that kitchens with no natural light and, in some cases, no space for a fridge, were not acceptable; that bedrooms with no direct natural light were not acceptable; that apartments requiring large inputs of energy to keep them liveable in summer and winter were not acceptable in this age of climate change; and that a basement car park on flood-prone land was inappropriate. We argued that the loss of privacy to neighbours, the lack of open space and myriad design faults had undesired social consequences.
And yet all this developer has to do is declare the least desirable unit as “social housing” and the plans will be rubber-stamped by the Planning Minister.
And who has to live with the fallout? Not the developer who walks away with his rich profits, not the Government ministers and bureaucrats who allowed this “development”, but the local residents who have to share their overstretched or non-existent community support services and put up with the eyesore dominating the previously pretty street.
When do we start labelling the Brumby Government as the second coming of Jeff?
– David and Lauren Gates, Notting Hill
Exemption scandal
As a town planner I would usually embrace Mr. Brumby’s fast-tracking of social housing. However, an examination of the details of the provisions highlights that the removal of these projects from the public realm is scandalous.
To qualify for the “social housing” exemption and be excluded from public participation and comment, there is no need to provide a minimum percentage of social housing. Indeed, since the announcement, a number of planning consultancies have begun offering to help commercial residential projects through the “social housing exemptions”.
Mr. Madden, a 100-unit commercial residential project with two social housing units is not social housing, but rather a “wolf scantily dressed in lamb’s clothing”.
– David Vorchheimer, Brighton
Long-term damage
Under the excuse of creating jobs, John Brumby is sacrificing democracy to increase his developer mates’ profits. This Government has been waiting for an excuse to bring in centralised planning, to get it out of the hands of councils and the dreaded residents. The real worry of this takeover is the long-term damage it will do to Melbourne and the state. Allowing developers to do what they want will change the face of Melbourne forever in a very short time and residents and their elected councils will be impotent.
– Mary Drost, convener, Planning Backlash, Camberwell
Bulldozing strategy
The latest bulldozing attempt by the Brumby-Madden behemoth reminds me of Albert Speers’ vision of a new Berlin – nothing must stand in its way. But instead of a misguided grand vision of a fascist state, we have a botched smorgasbord of developments that will be subject to abuse by those who will profit from them. There will be token amounts of social housing or educational institutions but in the end, the much bandied-about investment in infrastructure will be dominated by commercial profit rather than public good.
Your editorial (21/5) has accurately predicted the beginning of the end of an otherwise reasonably successful government. Like everything else, the notion of power has a way of corrupting the minds of well-meaning politicians.
– Alex Njoo, St Kilda
Perhaps frustrated residents can resort to illegal means to combat such developments, such as burning them!
“City’s growth boundary expanded”, The Age, 20/5. Melbourne continues to expand outward over the grassy plains like a metastasing cancer. The Planning Minister, Justin Madden, conveniently found that:
“We now know the grasslands are not as prolific in this area as originally thought,” he said in a written statement. This allowed the Government to look at a larger area for land use and transport.
I would like to see Madden given a public lynching! He has been Planning Minister for far too long and is corrupt and incompetent.
