Council Candidates’ Forum

With local council elections to be held on 22 October, the BCNA and Port People (www.portpeople.org.au) plan to arrange a forum where candidates for the City of Port Phillip Gateway Ward* will speak about their vision and aspirations for the Ward. This is expected to be held in early October at a venue nearby. More details soon.

*Gateway Ward is the new three-councillor Ward which encompasses Port Melbourne, South Melbourne, and Queens Road and replaces Sandridge Ward, most of Emerald Hill Ward, and some of Junction Ward. For more details of the changes go to this Victorian Electoral Commission web page.

Redevelopment of the London Hotel Site

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has completed a five day hearing on the owner’s application for the redevelopment of the site. This is for an eight storey building comprising a restaurant on the ground floor and seven levels of residences.

The BCNA was an objector to the application as well as the City of Port Phillip (CoPP), a group of residents at “The Anchorage”, and other nearby residents. Objections included overshadowing of nearby residences, privacy of nearby residences, overshadowing of the foreshore in June, a waiver of the requirements for a loading bay which means trucks need to load and unload from the street, and on-site parking for residents and their visitors.

VCAT typically provides written decisions within 4-6 weeks.

Air Quality Monitoring at Station Pier

The Port of Melbourne Corporation (PoMC) has set up an air quality monitoring station at Station Pier to measure sulphur dioxide and particulates. This was done in response to concerns by residents about emissions from ships at Station Pier. Monitoring data will be collected over a year and a report prepared.

Representatives from the BCNA recently met staff from the Environment Protection Agency and the PoMC to discuss the collection of data, additional monitoring, and additional records to help interpret the data.

More details will be provided as the work progresses.

Update on 1-7 Waterfront Place

BCNA Committee members have discussed the state of the site with the Mayor on several occasions since our last update in May. The advice we have received is that Local Law is not clear enough to take action to encourage a clean-up. As a result, this situation will be included in a review of Local Law, which is to commence later this year. The review is to include consultation with the community, including BCNA.

Update on Fishermans Bend

The latest (July) update from the Fishermans Bend Taskforce (which can be downloaded here) explains proposed work in planning for Fishermans Bend.

Both the BCNA and South Port Urban Responsible Renewal (SPURR) commented on the draft Vision released in May and their submissions can be accessed here:

• BCNA Submission to Recast FBURA Vision
• SPURR Submission to Recast FBURA Vision

A final vision statement is to be released in late August. The strategic direction for transport infrastructure, community infrastructure, public space and density will be released in a Fishermans Bend Framework in November. Work is also being undertaken on funding models for the project. Twenty three developments have been approved to date for 7553 dwellings, with twenty four developments under consideration for 7200 dwellings.

New BCNA Committee Members

Three members have joined the committee until the AGM in November. We welcome Geoff Lord, Robyn McKenna and Grant Aldous. These members join the existing committee of Eddie Micallef (President), Roger Joyce (Vice President), Bill Fisher (Secretary & Treasurer), Pam Montgomery, Richard Nowotny and Greg Mate.

Free Music Events

The City of Port Phillip is sponsoring free music events from 20-27 August 2016 across the city. A feature event is being held at the Globe Warehouse, 1 Fennell Street, Port Melbourne on Saturday 20 August at 6 pm. Further information can be found at www.livenlocal.com.au.