Vote 1 for Darren Lewin-Hill in the Darebin Council election!


Darren Lewin-Hill, candidate for Rucker

Save Westgarth Village spokesperson Darren Lewin-Hill will contest the November Darebin Council elections as our endorsed candidate for Rucker Ward.

SWV is committed to making planning a key election issue and is determined to gain a voice for the local community in shaping future development.

Rucker Ward needs a change. The community needs an advocate within Council who will work towards better and more effective public consultation - your say in what happens in your Ward.

Property developers and planning bureaucracies are not the community. Council is not the community. The people of Rucker Ward are the community and the Council ought to listen and be accountable for community concerns.

SWV will run an open and transparent campaign. We will clearly state our policies and our preferences. We ask for your support by voting for our candidate and following the preferences now available on this site.

The elections will be held by ballots that will be posted to residents through 9-11 November. Your completed ballot-paper must reach the Returning Officer by 6:00 pm on Friday, 26 November 2004 or it will not be counted.

Authorised by Darren Lewin-Hill, 12 Candy Street Northcote 3070.

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News

Planning report shows Council not up to speed

An 'urgent report' considered by Darebin Council at its meeting last Wednesday (3 November) shows Council is not up to speed on the work required to implement Minister Delahunty's new three-storey cap for residential areas. The cap does not cover local shopping strips and will cover only those residential areas selected by Council. The report states:

In Darebin, whilst there may be sensitive areas of the municipality where a 9 metre height limit would be appropriate, the strategic analysis to determine where it could be justified has not been done.(p. 4)

The new residential limit has two key implications for Darebin's residential streets:

  1. Development levels higher than three storeys may be contemplated by Council in residential areas close to shopping strips.
  2. Developers will be encouraged to build to three storeys in areas where the limit applies, even where this height might not be appropriate. Northcote residents should be aware that their local streets are potentially facing new apartments of at least three storeys should the Council opt in to the Minister's offer.

The report also deals with interim controls to apply to local shopping strips such as neighbourhood activity centres. It indicates that such controls have already been requested from the Minister on 21 September, with Council's Wednesday meeting confirming that the controls would be based on the recommendations of the final report of the Minister's panel on C47. This means four storeys for Westgarth. The Council has so far failed to provide SWV with a copy of the letter to the Minister requesting the controls.

After several requests, a report provided to SWV by Council shows a distinct lack of high density development applications for Westgarth. This belies the Council's claimed need to push through planning laws to meet development pressures. SWV maintains that if Council had determined to work from the outset in cooperation with the community, Westgarth could by now have had appropriate planning laws that addressed the threat of over-development.

Download the Council's report.

Authorised by Darren Lewin-Hill, 12 Candy Street Northcote 3070.

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New three-storey limit fails to deliver

An edited version of the following text was published in the 'Letters' column of The Age on Tuesday 2 November 2004.

Minister Delahunty's three-storey cap on new buildings in residential areas is not the touted saviour of local communities she would have us believe. Nor is it a response uniformly welcomed by resident groups such as Save Westgarth Village in Northcote.

As the Minister has stated (ABC television news 7.00pm, Thursday 28 October 2004) the new limit will not apply to local shopping strips, which are often the most contested sites for development under Melbourne 2030. Councils are free in these cases to request interim controls for higher developments. Unless these controls genuinely reflect community concerns, they will pave the way for over-development.

It is also doubtful that a limit as high as three storeys (nine metres) is justified in all residential areas, with your own editorial acknowledging alarm at the prospect of such a standard. Developers may build to this limit even where it is inappropriate.

While it is true that we cannot sustainably allow the infinite sprawl of the suburbs, the choices are not simply between no development and over-development. The balance lies in acknowledging community concerns, and will not be achieved by local Councils and the State Government working to engineer community input out of the planning process.

Authorised by Darren Lewin-Hill, 12 Candy Street Northcote 3070.

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A successful Community Meeting for Westgarth

A successful community meeting of 60 Westgarth residents on Tuesday night
(5 October) underlined continued opposition to proposed planning amendments that would see over-development in Westgarth.

The ball is now firmly in Council's court to explain the timing and process of the amendments from here, and to explain the nature of interim controls it has sought from the Minister for Planning to apply before the amendments are finally approved.

Advice so far indicates that the interim controls will be based on the final panel report recommendations, which SWV strongly opposes on the basis of their encouragement of over-development in Westgarth. With Council yet to respond to questions raised by SWV, the Village faces interim controls that are the forerunners of the amendments themselves.

At the meeting, presentations by Steven Tsitas, Ray Radford and Alex Bhathal were accompanied by the welcome inclusion of Shadow Planning Minister, Ted Baillieu, who spoke on the broader impacts of Melbourne 2030.

Ted said the Minister for Planning was not across the detail or the consequences of Melbourne 2030, and that the State Government was quick to point the finger at VCAT when the plan itself was 'a dud'.

After a Q&A session attended by all the speakers, three motions were carried nearly unanimously and will now inform discussions we demand be held by the City of Darebin to prevent over-development in Westgarth.

We thank all speakers for the spirit of engagement that saw them attend and be available for questions from the audience. Notably and unfortunately absent were planning minister and Northcote MLA, Mary Delahunty, our own Councillor and Darebin Mayor, Rae Perry, and the Federal MP for Batman, Martin Ferguson.

Representatives from the City of Darebin declined our invitation on the basis of the caretaker period now in force in the lead-up to the November Council elections, a restriction that has not prevented them from making a number of decisions on these important issues.

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Three motions for a better Village

Following the presentations and Q&A session at Tuesday night's Community Meeting (5 October), three motions were put to the gathering that were passed with a near unanimous show of hands. The motions call on the City of Darebin to incorporate the Save Westgarth Village recommendations, halt Westgarth Village planning decisions until this is done, and to establish a Westgarth Village Committee to ensure stronger community consultation on future issues. The motions were as follows:

  1. We demand that Council and the State Government protect Westgarth Village by incorporating our recommendations in the final form of the amendments - this includes no upper-storey additions for heritage buildings and a new building height limit of two storeys that is not to exceed the parapets of existing two-storey buildings.
  2. Council must suspend decisions on development applications in Westgarth Village until the amendments fully reflect our recommendations, including the height limit adopted above.
  3. Council endorse and support a Westgarth Village Committee to ensure a community voice in shaping the future development of Westgarth.

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Presentations available

Presentations are now available from our community meeting on Tuesday 5 October. Rae Perry was given the opportunity to publish a statement in lieu of her attendance: she initially agreed, but withdrew permission on Friday 29 October.

Although Save Westgarth Village is now running an endorsed candidate, we have published the presentations of other candidates to honour a commitment we made following our meeting but before we decided to run. The statements in the presentations represent the candidates' own views, and have been duly authorised.

Based on their presentations and views expressed on the night, we have preferenced Ray Radford second, and Steven Tsitas fourth on our ballot paper. This is based on merit, and in particular the Greens policy on community consultation. At our meeting, Steven Tsitas expressed incomplete or qualified support for our 15 community recommendations, and he has been rated accordingly.

The publication of the presentations made by the non-SWV candidates does NOT indicate their endorsement by Save Westgarth Village beyond these rankings on merit.

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Final panel report pushes four storeys for Westgarth

The final report of the Government-appointed planning panel on amendments C47 and C53 has asked the City of Darebin to consider allowing four-storey development in Westgarth Village when it shapes the final version of the amendments to be approved by Planning Minister, Mary Delahunty.

The report was quietly published on the City of Darebin website shortly after its receipt by the Council in mid-September and shows no progress on the panel's June interim report, which ignored 15 recommendations submitted by Save Westgarth Village. Excessive new building heights, shop consolidations, upper-storey 'piggy-back' additions to heritage buildings, laneway apartments and inadequate parking continue to be threatened by the amendments in their current form.

While the City of Darebin has acknowledged its discretion to shape the final form of the amendments, it has failed to confirm when these are set to be considered by Council and whether the community will be consulted on the final changes before the Minister's nod makes them planning law. It has also failed to state whether Council's vote will be held before or after the November Council elections, given that senior Council officers have now claimed the Council to be in caretaker mode.

Council planning representatives have declined our invitation to clarify these issues at our Community Meeting, which will be held at 7.30pm on Tuesday 5 October at the Jika Jika Community Centre. Westgarth residents are encouraged to attend this meeting for the latest news on these issues and to hear candidates in the November Council elections for Rucker Ward.

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Why we're holding a Community Meeting

Save Westgarth Village is fighting development proposals that threaten to destroy the character, amenity and commercial viability of the historic Westgarth Village in Northcote. Despite our recommendations to Council and to the Government-appointed Planning Panel, the community's recommendations to change these proposals have been ignored.

This meeting represents your chance to hear the Rucker Ward candidates in the forthcoming Council elections explain their position on development in Westgarth.

We will be asking their views on how community consultation should shape the nature of development and, in the case of incumbent Rucker Ward Councillor and Darebin Mayor, Rae Perry, why she has supported proposals that are strongly opposed by her community. So far we have invited to this meeting:

  • Rae Perry, ALP Rucker Ward Councillor and Mayor UNAVAILABLE
  • Steven Tsitas, ALP candidate for Council CONFIRMED
  • Ray Radford, Greens candidate for Council CONFIRMED
  • Mary Delahunty, State Member for Northcote UNAVAILABLE
  • Ted Baillieu, Shadow Minister for Planning TBA TUESDAY 5/10
  • Alex Bhathal, Federal candidate for the Greens in Batman CONFIRMED
  • Martin Ferguson, Federal Labor Member for Batman UNAVAILABLE

Make Council account for its planning decisions. Don't elect Councillors who support over-development in Westgarth!

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'No' from Ferguson

Batman Federal Member Martin Ferguson has advised that he will not be attending the Save Westgarth Village Community Meeting on Tuesday 5 October (7.30pm, Jika Jika Community Centre). He did, however, offer the following points:

  1. He is supportive of a voice for the local community in shaping future development in Westgarth.
  2. He said planning should be 'akin to the needs' of the local community.
  3. He is supportive of Westgarth's development as a local village and has encouraged traders to establish a lobby group.
  4. He said that the main issue was that VCAT must be 'tamed', as it is currently letting developers have whatever they want in contradiction to Council decisions on particular developments. VCAT is 'stuffing over the Council' on local issues. He said there had to be a balance between 'what's possible and the views of VCAT'.
  5. While he stated that 'Melbourne has a plan', he would not be drawn on the specifics of the local planning issues and our fight against the City of Darebin, saying that Rae Perry is to be accountable to the people of Westgarth on such matters.
  6. He is not attending the meeting as he sees it as focusing on local issues and he is busy with wider issues related to the Federal election. He said he was prepared to meet after the election on Federal issues.
  7. He advised us not to swayed by the views of the Greens, whom he described as saying 'no' to all development. He said they had an 'easy life' with such a policy - we invite their response.

While we welcome Mr Ferguson's support of the role of a community voice in shaping local development, it is unfortunate that he is unable to attend. We also contend that the Council and the State Government have comprehensively failed the Ferguson test for community involvement in shaping future development in Westgarth. The community voice supported by Mr Ferguson has been ignored by Rae Perry, the City of Darebin, the Government Planning Panel, and our local Member (and Planning Minister), Mary Delahunty.

Further, we disagree that the problem rests solely with VCAT, which needs to be reformed together with the entire planning process. We would also argue that Council decisions would be better supported in the face of VCAT by planning amendments framed to respect community views.

Finally, for those invited, attendance at our meeting is a choice to engage in dialogue with the community. We therefore welcome the attendance of the Greens Council candidate, Ray Radford, the alternative ALP candidate for Council, Steven Tsitas, and the Greens Federal candidate for Batman, Alex Bhathal.

Mary Delahunty and Ted Baillieu are yet to reply to our invitation, while Rae Perry offers the following:

As Mayor I have a dinner engagement with the Islamic elders as it is the end of Ramadan on the 5 October 2004 so I will be unable to attend. Please pass on my apologies.

Rae was invited mid-September. Ramadan in fact begins on 15 October and ends on 14 November. We have asked Rae to review her diary.

Save Westgarth Village will be publicising the outcomes of the meeting, including who chose to enter into dialogue with their community.

We encourage all members of the Westgarth community to attend our meeting, and to watch this site for further details.

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Delahunty closes door on Westgarth

Save Westgarth Village has renewed its call for a meeting with Mary Delahunty amid strong concern that contentious planning changes in Northcote's historic Westgarth Village are finished business for the Planning Minister and local MP. Despite review by a Government Panel, excessive development proposals by the City of Darebin remain largely unchanged, ignoring a host of concerns raised in Panel submissions and some 300 objections received by Council from the Westgarth community.

Advice from Planning Panels Victoria (PPV) last Friday indicates that a second round of Panel hearings, scheduled to commence on 20 July, will consider the same broad changes (amendments C47 and C53), but will shift in focus to the controversial tower development proposed for Northcote Plaza. The Plaza site is located in a separate precinct a considerable distance to the north. The Panel will accept no further submissions or presentations on Westgarth Village.

To read how this advice directly contradicts media statements by Delahunty spokesman, Martin Curtis, please read our latest media release.

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Panel report fails to stem community and heritage concerns

A report by a Government-appointed Panel on planning proposals for Westgarth has failed to stem community and heritage concerns about over-development. Save Westgarth Village received an e-mail copy from Council on Monday 28 June, and is currently considering the report in detail to highlight areas of significant concern that remain despite community action to protect the historic Village.

A preliminary examination of the report shows the Panel to be largely in agreement with the pro-development stance taken by Council. With the focus of further hearings set to shift to the contentious tower development at Northcote Plaza, the report highlights the urgent need for SWV to meet with local Member and Minister for Planning, Mary Delahunty, to influence the final form of the planning changes before they become law and inappropriate development is allowed to occur.

The Interim Panel Report on Draft Planning Scheme Amendments C47 and C53 is now available via the City of Darebin website. Dated May 2004, the report was submitted to the Minister for Planning on 2 June. Further hearings of the Panel are scheduled to begin on 20 July, with the Panel's final report due on 21 September.

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Delahunty refuses meeting with constituents on planning changes

As of 27 June 2004, the Minister for Planning and MLA for Northcote, Mary Delahunty, has refused a meeting with Save Westgarth Village (SWV), a community action group fighting planning changes in High Street, Northcote. The group has broad support in Westgarth and has aimed to give a voice to a community whose concerns over the contentious changes have largely been ignored.

The over-development threatened by the changes stems from the City of Darebin's inappropriate application of Melbourne 2030, a Victorian Government planning strategy that is prompting community action across the State. Highlighting the significance of the historic strip, High Street Northcote is one of four heritage areas targeted for protection by the National Trust, which has classified Westgarth Village up to Separation Street.

In response to SWV's request to meet with Ms Delahunty, a senior adviser to the Minister, Rebecca Falkingham, stated on Thursday (24 June) that it would be 'inappropriate at this stage', citing as justification the fact that the independent Panel considering the changes is still underway.

Read more in our new media release.

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No response from Delahunty as Panel reports on planning changes

Despite her receipt on 2 June of an interim Panel report on planning proposals for Westgarth, the Minister for Planning, Mary Delahunty, has yet to respond to meeting requests made by Save Westgarth Village since 29 April 2004.

Now under consideration by the Minister but not yet publicly available, the Panel's report deals with the proposed tower development at Northcote Plaza, and with Draft Planning Scheme Amendments C47 and C53. If approved unchanged, the draft amendments would have a significant negative impact along the length of High Street, Northcote – including Westgarth Village.

Following its own presentations to the Panel, SWV is keen to pursue the meeting with the Minister to redress a flawed consultation process that began with the initial deadline for comment on the proposed planning changes back in May 2003. Community action by Save Westgarth Village in response to that deadline prompted some 300 objections – a record for the City of Darebin.

While community action has so far won limited concessions for the historic strip, the proposed amendments continue to provide for construction above existing heritage buildings, consolidation of selected shops into larger building sites, as well as construction of new three-storey buildings with detailing to a height of four storeys.

Read more in Community Update 3.

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SWV objects to 11-unit development at 136-138 High Street, Westgarth

Members of the Westgarth community were recently asked to object to the proposed 11-unit development at 136-138 High Street, Northcote, by Friday 11 June 2004. (Read our standard objection letter here.)

If allowed, this development would see the demolition of an existing house of potential heritage value, together with three-storey construction and an underground car park.

Following its submission to the Panel on Draft Planning Scheme Amendments C47 and C53, the National Trust has now classified High Street from Westgarth Street to Separation Street. The development site falls within this area, and the Trust has taken the further step of submitting a formal objection to the proposal to the City of Darebin.

Save Westgarth Village believes that granting a permit would pre-empt a decision by the Minister for Planning on proposed Amendments C47 and C53, and set a dangerous precedent for residential developments along High Street.

We call on the City of Darebin to undertake an assessment of the existing house, and to work with the National Trust and local residents to ensure that any development is sympathetic to the heritage and community values of Westgarth.

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