Barak Beacon Housing Redevelopment - Meeting with Nina Taylor MP

Since our earlier post, we have learnt that residents in Garden City have arranged a meeting with Nina Taylor, the State Member of Parliament for Albert Park, to discuss the project. The meeting will be held at the Julier Reserve Netball Club, 79-111 Dunstan Parade, on Monday, 22nd April at 4 pm.

 

Residents have prepared a flyer explaining their concerns about population density, traffic volume, road safety, and lack of parking in the development.

Sea Wall Repairs

The City of Port Phillip has arranged for repairs to the concrete structures (known as Seabees) underneath the promenade for the Beacon Cove Bay Trail. The work is expected to start in mid-April and is expected to take 3 weeks, weather and tide permitting. Click here for more information.

Council’s New Ward Structure

The City of Port Phillip (CoPP) has announced details for this year’s council elections in October. Nine wards (each with one councillor) will replace the existing three Wards (each with three councillors). Wards will be approximately equal in terms of voters.

Beacon Cove will be represented by one councillor under the new structure. Click here for a map of the nine new wards.  (For a really detailed map showing individual streets, click here and go to page 29).

The change to a new Ward structure was announced by the Victorian Government in 2022. Click here for more information about the changes.

Waterfront Welcomers — Volunteers Needed

Waterfront Welcomers is an organisation that organises volunteers to meet and greet cruise ship passengers at Station Pier. They are seeking volunteers for the next cruise season which starts in September 2024. Click here for more information.

If you would like to volunteer, contact Brian on 03 9645 1476, or by email to waterfrontwelcomers@southportcc.org.au.

Council’s Dogs Off-Leash Guideline Update

The City of Port Philip (CoPP) commenced a process to develop the Dogs off Leash Guideline in November 2022. A draft guideline has been prepared and is now available. Click here to see the guideline and how to provide feedback. 

The CoPP is proposing:

• Current restrictions remain in place (including distance from playgrounds and sports grounds in use).
• Dogs be prohibited at all times, both on or off-leash, from entering specialised sports fields (those sporting reserves that include synthetic pitches or premier level grass playing surfaces).
• To consider some more dog free public open spaces across the City.
• The draft Guideline outlines what Council will consider when deciding about a Dogs Off Leash Area, including a demand analysis, site analysis and site assessment.

The public consultation phase runs from 25th March – 28th April 2024. The BCNA encourages all members with an interest in this topic to have your say on the draft guideline and provide feedback to Council.

Community Forum - Urban Heat or Cool Green?

The City of Port Phillip, with other organisations, is hosting a forum this Tuesday, 19th March, from 6.30 to 8 pm, at the Victorian Pride Centre Theatrette, 79-91 Fitzroy St, St Kilda to discuss the science and practical considerations for Port Phillip’s draft Urban Forest Strategy. The strategy has as a goal of reaching 30% canopy cover by 2040. Click here for details.

Pedestrian Safety in Garden City Reserve

Recently, a young child was hit by a bike or eScooter crossing the Garden City shared bike path from Edina Close to Garden City Reserve. The area is shown here

Police and ambulance attended. Fortunately, the child was not badly injured but the outcome could have been tragic. The City of Port Phillip (CoPP) responded promptly to clear the area of unnecessary foliage etc.

Blind bike path crossings remain very dangerous. Several suggestions have been offered to CoPP to improve safety in this instance. Safety mirrors would help bikes/scooters and pedestrians to better see what’s coming as would speed limits.

City of Port Phillip Housing Strategy

The City of Port Phillip (CoPP) has now released a draft housing strategy for consultation. Our earlier item explained that the Victorian Government expects all councils to take active steps to plan for growth over a 15-year period.

The draft strategy can be accessed here.

The consultation period runs from the 8th March to 19th April. You can attend an online information session or have a one-on-one meeting with the project team. Click here for instructions how to do this.

The draft strategy contains some interesting statistics:

• The City of Port Phillip continues to the be the most densely populated local area in Victoria with a population density of 5,029 per square km. Most of the dwellings in Port Phillip have 2 bedrooms or less (66.8 per cent). Separate houses have declined over time.
• Almost half of all households (49 per cent) are in rental properties, compared with less than a third (29 per cent) in Greater Melbourne.

When completed, the strategy is designed to guide CoPP's action for those area that do not have planning controls such as Heritage Overlays, Design and Development Overlays or Neighbourhood Character Overlays. Housing in the Mirvac-planned estate in Beacon Cove is covered by Neighbourhood Character Overlays so is not in scope for the new strategy. However, some nearby areas are. They include the Barak Road public housing area; the Wintringham Hostel area; the older, non-Mirvac built, homes in the block bounded by Morley, Little Swallow and Swallow Street; and areas on either side of Bay Street near Beach Street.

BCNA Concerns About Plans for the Barak Beacon Housing Redevelopment

Since our recent update, the BCNA has provided feedback on draft plans for the Barak Beacon Housing Redevelopment by Homes Victoria.

The BCNA’s interest in the site in Barak Road is that the development is immediately across Beacon Road from the Beacon Cove Estate. We have members in residences surrounding the site.

The BCNA recognises and acknowledges that the social housing previously on this site was no longer fit for purpose and efficiency and amenity dividends can be expected from redevelopment. However, when the redevelopment was first advertised in 2022, the Government stated that the 4-5 storey buildings were envisaged. The current detailed design, however, now proposes two buildings of 9 and 11 storeys with remaining buildings to 4 and 5 storeys.

Whilst supporting the redevelopment, BCNA’s submission discusses five concerns with the current design:

1. The redevelopment of local sites should be sympathetic to existing residences and not cause further congestion of transport or green space infrastructure. 
2. The nearby areas of Beacon Cove and Garden City are typically 2-3 storey residences, with high rise apartments close to Station Pier, and have existed as such for many decades. Government involvement in Waterfront Place and the emerging Fishermans Bend is resulting in increased high-rise development. We urge this trend be amended to only allow multiple storeys if the impact on green space and transport be mitigated. 
3. Nearby streets were designed many years ago for sedate residential traffic and now appear to be expected to cater for traffic volumes in orders of magnitude greater than their design. 
4. Residents of the proposed Barak Beacon development will depend in part, on improvements to Fishermans Bend transport infrastructure. The state government has, to date, failed to deliver on earlier commitments to build new transport infrastructure for the area as explained here. 
5. The BCNA is concerned that decisions on the amenity of the new development will be made by ministerial dictate without consideration of community wishes.

The BCNA submission can be accessed here.

Urgent Job Opportunity - School Crossing Supervisor

The City of Port Phillip (Council) is seeking a school crossing supervisor for the Port Melbourne Secondary College, 277 Graham Street, Port Melbourne. The role is critical in ensuring safe travel of students to and from the school.

The opportunity is for immediate filling. A description of the crossing supervisor role is shown here and a Position Description is shown here.

Council is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) in the role. If you are interested, please submit an EOI to Council’s Parking Services unit via email (click here).

If you have questions about the role, contact Craig at the Council via email (click here) or on 0422 595 974.