October 2020, Issue 101 The Voice of Postcode 3006 and Montague 见 30 页 southbanklocalnews.com.au Forever Free Twitter @southbank_news Boyd building proposal reignites local anger While the submission of a planning application last month for a 42-storey development at the western edge of Boyd Park has been expected for some time, it has renewed some fierce opposition within the local community. words by Sean Car to 2014, all profits generated from PLANNING both the previous and current sales of the site are directed to funding the renewal of Queen Victoria Market Last year, the City of Melbourne (QVM); a continued topic of angst sold the 1843 sqm portion of land within the community, according to currently occupied by a basketball Mr Penna. court and pop-up orchard to devel- PDG’s development, which was 27 oper PDG for $16.5 million, who as metres higher than Mackie’s previous part of the deal, agreed to deliver a proposal for the site, was allowed range of community benefits in its additional height under an agree- proposal. ment by the developer to include On July 4 last year, Lord Mayor 1000 sqm of council-run community Sally Capp appeared with PDG man- facilities over the first two levels of aging director Vince Giuliano and the building. ▲ (L-R) The Greens Lord Mayoral candidate Apsara Sabaratnam and councillor candidates Rohan Leppert and Nakita Thomson at Power St. Southbank Residents’ Association But the application submitted to (SRA) president Tony Penna to un- planning authorities last month by veil the long-awaited ending to the PDG has returned with a higher saga that has been the council’s Boyd tower at 138.7 metres and 920 sqm of A Green pledge for park over CityLink dealings. council facilities facing the City Rd Following a series of failed at- end of the development nearest the tempts to develop the site with pre- Boyd Community Hub. words by Sean Car win a third term on council, said he would push for the vious developer Mackie since 2011 PDG development director photography by John Tadigiri City of Melbourne to progress financing and feasibility in order to fund Boyd Park, the Lord Sebastian Mahoney said that the ELECTIONS options with the state government and CityLink operator Mayor and Mr Giuliano announced a current height of the proposal was Transurban. new deal for a 110-metre mixed-use consistent with the planning scheme Illusive plans for a 2.5-hectare elevated park linking the As the headline project of its “Parks for Everyone” building last year. and that it had delivered more com- two halves of Southbank over CityLink would be kick- policy initiative, The Greens have costed the project This was despite the council ulti- munity space than what the council started under an elected Greens leadership team at the at $385 million over 10 years, proposing a mixture of mately funding and building the park had requested. upcoming City of Melbourne council elections. funding streams from the council, state government and itself in spite of its failed attempts to “The City of Melbourne’s original First flagged in the council’s Southbank Structure Plan Transurban. get a deal over the line with Mackie tender called for 550 sqm of council in 2010, the cost and coordination of bridging the gap With Southbank still by far lowest in the City of following pressure from the local facilities and PDG reached an agree- between the tops of Balston and Power streets over the Melbourne’s rankings of open space per individual at 0.62 community, which had called for the ment with the City of Melbourne to freeway to Miles and Sturt streets with green space has sqm, compared with Parkville at 180 sqm, Mr Leppert said entire site to become a park. include a minimum of 920 sqm of prevented any progress of the vision to date. the proposal represented the only opportunity to rectify But having purchased the entire council facilities at ground and level But The Greens, led by Lord Mayoral candidate Apsara the shortfall. site, formerly home to JH Boyd Girls one,” he said. Sabaratnam and two-term councillor Rohan Leppert, “Our policy for the creation of new open space focuses School, back in 2007 and delivering “The community facilities will have pledged to give the project the attention it deserves on the areas of greatest need,” he said. the Boyd Community Hub at 207 adjoin the new park and will be a fan- if elected on October 24, sharing their plans exclusively “The Southbank Structure Plan 2010 found that ‘the City Rd, the council has insisted that tastic asset for the local Southbank with Southbank News. approach to the CityLink tunnel has created a large void selling off a section of the site was community.” But irrespective of Ms Sabaratnam winning Lord in Southbank. This fragments Southbank into disparate necessary. The DKO Architecture-designed Mayoralty, Mr Leppert, who is all but guaranteed to Continued on page 2. Due to a council policy dating back Continued on page 3. HERITAGE, PAGE 05 ELECTIONS, PAGE 07 BUSINESS, PAGE 09 ELECTIONS, PAGES 14-15 Heritage protection a Another Southbanker Arts Centre veteran Council elections ... all A headache for Crown B runs for local council C leads the YRBA D you need to know Scan to enquire Your Southbank Property Experts Contact us today for a free, no obligation rental or sales appraisal. 9696 8869 | [email protected] | melcorp.com.au Victor Chung Hayley Baker Trish Destito Taylah Vella Sergio Lopez The Voice of Postcode 3006 and Montague 2 A Green pledge for park over CityLink CONTACT Continued from page 1. Suite 108, 198 Harbour Esplanade Docklands 3008 pieces and tends to blight the immediately southbanklocalnews.com.au surrounding uses.’” Tel: 8689 7980 “The proposal at the time was to ‘stitch to- EDITOR gether the northern and southern fragmented Sean Car ‘halves’ of Southbank by decking over the void with new development to create a connected PUBLISHER and continuous mixed-use area and provide the Hyperlocal News Pty Ltd opportunity for new public open space.’” ABN: 57 623 558 725 “We disagree. To bring green open space in Southbank up to a level approaching the World ADVERTISING Health Organisation’s recommended minimum Hyper-local print works for advertisers of 9sqm per individual, let alone the recom- in our digital world because local people mended ideal rate of 50 sqm, all of this space are interested in local news. should be green parkland for public use.” To sell to the Southbank community, “The City of Melbourne’s Open Space contact Jack Hayes on 0401 031 236 or Strategy 2012 moved in this direction, but the [email protected] sheer expense and challenge of multi-level governmental coordination has prevented this Reader contributions are welcome. project from being explored.” ▲ A before and after representation of The Greens take on an elevated park over CityLink in Southbank. Send letters, articles and images to: “It is well past time that this idea is taken se- [email protected] riously, budgeted for and progressed. Our pro- from the council’s open space reserve and cap- posal will connect the two halves of Southbank The deadline for the November edition ital works contributions, respectively, as well and lift green open space rates per capita great- is November 5, 2020. as a $290 million contribution from the state ly. There is no other space in Southbank able to government, which Mr Leppert said could be SOCIAL MEDIA cater for new public open space at this scale.” recouped over time from Transurban by ex- TwitterFollow us on Twitter Appearing at the site this month with Ms tending the CityLink concession deed by nine @SOUTHBANK_News Sabaratnam and local Southbank candidate months from January 2045 to November 2045. Nakita Thomson, who is running fifth on The “Absolutely it’s a longer-term project but we FACEBOOK-SQUARELike us on Facebook Greens councillor ticket in this election (read need to start somewhere,” Mr Leppert said. Southbank Local News more in this month’s Southbanker profile on “It’s nearly two per cent of the suburb. No page 23), Mr Leppert said the new park would instagramFollow us on Instagram other site in Southbank can deliver this degree connect Melbourne Square to Habitat Filter on @southbanklocalnews of open space.” Miles and Sturt streets. “The tolls from CityLink are pretty extraor- Representing 1.6 per cent of the total area Opinions expressed by contributors are not dinary and it’s well time we draw some contri- of Southbank, the park would require decking traffic guarantee that the state government has necessarily shared by the publisher. butions from Transurban.” over the section of CityLink freeway approach- agreed to,” Mr Leppert said. A spokesperson for Transurban said that hyperlocalnews.com.au ing the Domain Tunnel abutting Power St. While 48 per cent of the open space would while it was always open to working with the [email protected] The plan would also require that the offramp be on ground, 52 per cent would be built on community to improve areas along CityLink, from CityLink westbound join the Miles and decking. Mr Leppert also flagged the possibility it wasn’t appropriate on policies put forth by Moore street intersection, rather than Power St. of the triangular parcel of land between Power different candidates during the election “Over time we will further throttle traffic and Sturt streets being decked in the future to • where possible to limit heavy truck movements allow for mixed and community uses. through the local area, without creating a lia- Its $385 million project costing over 10 years bility for ratepayers by removing the CityLink would include $65 million and $30 million [email protected] A MINI-METROPOLIS FOR THE GARDEN STATE Southbank by Beulah is a project of an unprecedented scale for Melbourne, drawing together leading figures in international design and placemaking to create a world-class, multi-use development that sets a benchmark in liveable city design.