JOIN CAG

SmithStreet.org « CAG « Media Releases « INFORMATION RELEASE: 'NO CONFIDENCE' IN RE-OPENED SMITH STREET PLANNING INQUIRY

Residents fear the Priority Development Panel's decision to re-open the Smith Street inquiry is a waste of time as it's already made up its mind to support Banco's plans with minimal changes.

Residents fear that the Priority Development Panel's decision to re-open its inquiry and take fresh submissions is a waste of time and that the Panel has already made up its mind to support Banco's plans with only minimal and cosmetic changes.

Planning Minister Rob Hulls' Priority Development Panel - set up to advise on Yarra's Smith Street interim structure plan and 'Banco's' Smith Street development proposal - has been under sustained attack from local politicians and residents. Resident parties slammed the Panel for appearing to pre-determine its decision in support of Banco's plans without substantive deliberation. Local MP Richard Wynne, former Yarra Mayor Kay Meadows, and Save Our Suburbs President Ian Quick all criticised the Panel for going ahead with an expert group to 'tweak' Banco's plans without resident representation.

Collingwood Action Group spokesperson Earl Sakareassen said today that residents had participated in the Panel process in good faith but were disappointed and felt it was skewed in favour of developers. 'There is now a set of "tweaked" plans on the table produced under the Panel's direction that have an undeserved status. They contravene Yarra's Smith Street Interim Structure Plan and fail to address the concerns of experts and the 1500 objectors to Banco's original plans on issues such as height, bulk, mass, design, amenity, heritage and the environment'.

While residents had taken up the Panel's invitation to comment on the 'tweaked' plans, they made clear to the Panel that their response should not be taken as agreement that the process was fair or reasonable. The residents also stressed that the lack of resident representation in 'tweaking' Banco's did not imply either consent to the process or acceptance of the views of others' experts involved in that process.

The residents' submission criticised the changes made in the 'tweaked' plans as inadequate, minimalist, and cosmetic. 'While we welcome any steps to improve the design - given the site's massive size and its location in a heritage precinct - superficial cosmetic changes to things such as zinc cladding on units and a modest setback for apartments on top of a heritage building are completely inadequate'.
Residents restated their position that the gap between height and bulk set out in Yarra's Smith Street Interim Structure Plan and the height and bulk of Banco's plans were such that any ratification of the interim controls would demand Banco's application be rejected in its current or 'tweaked' form.

Mr Sakareassen said, 'Our community picket of the Banco site demonstrates our total opposition to the proposed development. We are continuing the public campaign to stop this proposal in its tracks'. According to Mr Sakareassen, many people on Smith Street are shocked that Banco's development could still go ahead, 'They don't understand the planning system and believe that Council's refusal of Banco's planning permit earlier this year should have been the end of the matter. And they don't understand why it seems the community is being ignored'.

FOR MEDIA COMMENT
Collingwood Action Group, Earl Sakareassen 0425 748 888
Yarra Council, Cllr Steve Jolly 0437 856 713
Save our Suburbs, President Ian Quick 0422 479 540