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SmithStreet.org « CAG « Letters « RESIDENTS SEEK MEETING WITH PLANNING MINISTER HULLS RE PANEL CONCERNS

Residents ask to meet Minister re fears that Priority Panel set to approve Banco's plans with only a 'tweak' and process has denied residents fair representation.

Thursday 20 October 2005

The Hon Rob Hulls
Minister for Planning
Level 17
8 Nicholson Street
East Melbourne VIC 3002

Dear Minister Hulls

Re: City of Yarra's Smith Street Interim Structure Plan (C76 Amendment) and Planning Permit Application for 132-172 Smith Street and 63-71 Little Oxford Street Collingwood

On 5th October, the Priority Development Panel (PDP) convened by you to consider both Yarra Council's Smith Street Interim Structure Plan (C76 planning scheme amendment) and 'Banco's' planning application for 132-172 Smith Street and 63-71 Little Oxford Street, concluded its hearings.

The community was pleased with your decision to call in this planning application from VCAT. However, we have concerns about how the process has unfolded.

Firstly, the Panel was given two jobs by you: to consider Yarra Council's Smith Street Interim Structure Plan and Banco's planning application. The Council and community have put together an interim plan based on people's vision for Smith Street yet the Panel appears to have overlooked this. The government has allowed Councils to introduce interim controls in precisely these circumstances to ensure development proceeds in an orderly fashion while structure planning is completed, yet the Panel seemed to debate whether this was a good idea. The Panel Chair's concluding remarks in favour of redesigning Banco's planning application suggest it is acting like VCAT and support our concerns that the Panel has ignored a substantial part of its brief.

Secondly, at the conclusion of the Panel's last day, the Panel chair, Ms Jane Monk, stated that while the Panel had accumulated sufficient information to reach preliminary conclusions, Banco's plans needed 'tweaking' to obtain the Panel's support in recommending them to the Minister for approval. This process would be finalised via the PDP. To this end, Banco's architect (Mr Manton) would meet with the various urban design experts: from the Applicant (Ms Roz Hansen), Council (Mr Rob McGauran) and a group of residents (Professor Kim Dovey) to settle areas of difference. This process would conclude by 31st October and result in a fresh set of plans. We believe it appears the Panel has pre-empted its decision to approve Banco's plans without substantive deliberation.

Thirdly, the Panel's parameters for 'tweaking' Banco's plans have been dramatically and unacceptably narrowed since the Panel's final session. At this meeting, the Panel Chair stated this process would encompass a consideration of 'height, bulk, façade treatment and internal amenity'. This also appears to have been the understanding of Council. However the Panel's subsequent written instructions specify only issues such as façade treatment and louvres on balconies will be considered.

Finally, for the group of residents who commissioned Professor Dovey's expert report, this solution was always inadequate. Professor Dovey was not a member of the residents' group, and his expertise was confined to urban design issues. He was not called by residents to comment on heritage, architectural, traffic or other issues concerning the development, and could not be held to represent the collective opinion of the residents on these matters. Professor Dovey has now responded to the Panel's request informing them that he has no wish to represent the residents, nor to do unpaid consultancy work for the Panel. This leaves the residents who are party to proceedings unrepresented at these discussions. This lack of representation is entirely due to the fact that the Panel suggested a form of representation that would never have been acceptable to either the residents or the purported representative.

The Panel itself noted earlier that the process it was undertaking was untried. We feel that the ad-hoc processes adopted by the Panel from the outset have denied us fair representation, such as allowing cross-examination of witnesses and requiring volumes of expert reports to be analysed in tight timeframes. We would suggest that the process of three-way consultation suggested by the panel has also been developed on an ad hoc basis, and has been badly thought out. If these meetings are continued without resident representation, then no fair result can come from such deliberations. And if they continue on a two-way basis, the panel will have fallen short of the standards it has set itself. More importantly, we believe that the process as narrowly defined will not address the substantive concerns about Banco's plans expressed by the community, experts and our local representatives. Its lack of transparency is yet another cause for concern.

We would like to meet with you directly to outline our concerns prior to any consideration by you of any 'tweaked' 'Banco' plans or the Panel's report. This includes the option of reconvening the Panel to establish a process in which residents can be fairly represented and one that takes the Smith Street Interim Structure Plan seriously.

We continue to meet with our Local MP Richard Wynne on this issue and appreciate his support. We look forward to working with you to get a good planning outcome for the community and Smith Street.

Yours sincerely

Earl Sakareassen

On behalf of resident parties to PDP:
Andrew Brain & Jane Winter, Jenny & Kevin Cato, Andrew Garton, Cliodhna Rae, Laurence Billiet, Julie & David Harris , Dr Pearly Khaw & Dr Trevor Leong , Judy Watson, Ashley Manners, Robyn Zwar , Katarina Blomer, Rachel Antony, Grant McHerron, Desmond Files, Richard Girvan, Caitlin Nicholas, Earl Sakareassen, Warren Giesbers, Janine Baird, Anni Davey, Andrew Plummer, Vicki Evans, Leeane Conroy.
Parties represented at PDP by David O'Brien, Barrister, Owen Dixon Chambers, 205 William Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3066.

cc Richard Wynne (State Member for Richmond), Kay Meadows (Mayor City of Yarra), Steve Jolly (Councillor, City of Yarra), Jane Monk (Chair, Priority Development Panel)