Save Williamstown is a community group representing residents and friends of Williamstown in a fight to preserve the intact heritage of our town into its third century together with the local shipbuilding and maritime industries which have been the lifeblood of Williamstown since the settlement of Melbourne in 1835. 

Save Williamstown wants to STOP the developer Nelson Place Village Pty Ltd from getting planning approval for a 46.5 metre development (up to 17 storeys) on the area bounded by Nelson Place, Ann St, Cecil St, Aitken St & Kanowna St and make sure any development of the Former Port Phillip Woollen Mill Site is appropriate and sustainable in terms of heritage, jobs, the Williamstown Shipyards, the Point Gellibrand Coastal Park, infrastructure and neighbourhood character. Website with Nelson Place Village Plans

Save Williamstown is not against development.  Williamstown is a working town as well as a residential suburb and it has always embraced changes since it was first settled almost two centuries ago in 1835.   Essentially it is a balanced town with development fitting into the unique character of the town and not aiming to dominate.  Features such as the original road pattern and widths laid out by the Government Surveyor, Robert Hoddle, in the late 1830s are still present and should be retained.  Modern development should respect height and precinct character. 

Save Williamstown knows from communicating with those who live and work here that the unique character is widely appreciated by residents, tourists, local workers and industries and in particular the film industry.  It is important that new development does not destroy any of the unique character particularly in the starting point of the colony - THE GOVERNMENT SURVEY HERITAGE PRECINCT

The Former Port Phillip Woollen Mill Site which is the focus of our campaign is in the GOVERNMENT SURVEY HERITAGE PRECINCT and the community is concerned that any development on this site neither destroys the values of the precinct nor interferes with the shipbuilding industry.

Save Williamstown is a broad based community group, we do not aim to be prescriptive but we aim to constrain development to appropriate sustainable development and encourage the sort of development which is complementary to our community and does not strain our communal infrastructure. 

Save Williamstown aims to represent the whole community and has conducted a community wide residential opinion survey to assess what the whole community of Williamstown thinks of the developer’s proposal for a 46.5metre residential tower. SURVEY RESULTS.pdf  Overwhelming the community rejects the developer’s scheme and supports the issues raised by Save Williamstown.  Hopefully the Minister will listen to the community and respect heritage, local industry, jobs and infrastructure constraints.

Hobsons Bay City Council's planning scheme amendment C33 set out guidance for industrial land management in 2008. Planning Scheme Amendment C11 set out height limits for Williamstown in 2003.  Council's heritage overlays set out suitable height limits of the precincts.  The Municipal Strategic Statement values the heritage of Williamstown.  So the State Government Planning Minister, Justin Madden’s unilateral decision to rezone the Former Port Phillip Woollen Mill Site to Residential when Mixed Use which included some residential and some commercial use would have been more appropriate and sustainable.  The lack of democracy has angered the community.

Originally the owner of Former Port Phillip Woollen Mill Site, Nelson Place Village P/L completed an application to Hobsons Bay City Council in August 2009 for a planning scheme amendment to allow 46.5 metre apartments . The council did not cause any delays in processing the application. The only delays were those of the developer. Yet the minister called the application in on the request of the developer on the basis that the council was not dealing with the matter expediently.

The Minister has rezoned the Former Port Phillip Woollen Mill Site Residential 1 and has appointed an Advisory Committee with specified Terms of Reference.  The published Terms of Reference now include parcels of land which are still zoned Industrial 1 On the committee’s advice the Minister will determine “Design and Development Controls”. 

The committee has accepted relevant submissions and is holding hearings in October to which specific organisations, community groups and individuals will be invited to be heard. This is the main opportunity to tell the Minister that the community wants heritage controls & height controls to remain the same as the neighbouring streets in the heriitage area.  Also that industrial buffer zones are an important matter in planning development on this site and that community infrastructure needs to be appropriate to the population size.  Save Williamstown is named as a group which will be heard by the committee.  See Submissions for details of the submissions received by the Minister’s Advisory Committee

The closing date for written submissions was 27th August 2010.  

Thank you to those in the community who sent copies of individual submissions to Save Williamstown. We have pledged to bind together the submissions from the community as part of our submission to make sure that all voices of our community members are heard by the Advisory Committee. 

Once the Design and Development controls are established by the Minister, the developer will be required to submit building plans through normal planning processes to the Hobsons Bay City Council.  However the developer will be able to seek fast tracking of those plans through VCAT through recent changes  announced by the Minister.  So once again the community is likely to be excluded from "normal" planning process and the developer will be seeking favoured treatment.

HISTORY - HOW SAVE WILLIAMSTOWN WAS ESTABLISHED

In late April 2009, the community learnt of a proposal to build high-rise apartments at the Former Port Phillip Woolmill site on Nelson Place (Location and photos of the site).  The proposal requested a Planning Scheme Amendment with Development Plan Overlay (Amendment 75) to allow building to 46.5 metres (which in the DPO documents includes dotted lines for buildings up to 17 storeys). This would tower over the nearby historic landmark of the TIme Ball Tower at Point Gellibrand Coastal Heritage Park, endanger local jobs at the shipyards and will cause a planning precedent which will allow towers at many more locations throughout Williamstown, Newport  and and the inner west foreshore..

When members of WNSRA (Williamstown Newport Spotswood Residents’ Association) & POW (Preserve Old Williamstown) & others in the community heard of the proposal and the fact that the developers were not responding to Hobsons Bay City Council’s request for further information but seeking to have the Minister call-in the Planning Application to a Priority Development Panel, they hastily called a public meeting on 23rd May. The meeting showed the extent of community disquiet and went on to form an Action Working Group who then called another Public Meeting on 6th June at Seaworks.  500 people attended this meeting and determined to call the group SAVE WILLIAMSTOWN.

Our first RALLY held on Sunday 28th June was a huge success with over 1000 people.  Joan Kirner former Premier of Victoria and former member for WIlliamstown and a long term resident of Williamstown addressed the Rally.

On July 16, the community received good news when Councillors and the Minister met and determined that the application will remain with Council and the developer  must provide the required additional information to Council by 31 July (delivered on 7 August). DUE PROCESS WOULD PREVAIL and the community would then be invited to comment when the application was advertised. Links to additional information. 

In July 2009,  our petition of over 3000 signatures opposing the development was presented to Wade Noonan MP on 24th July to be tabled in State Parliament (Photos). Copies of the petition were also presented to Hobsons Bay City Council by Councillor Angela Altair.

On 1 December 2009 Councillors voted to not support the proposed amendment application C75 because it was incomplete and failed on a number of important planning issues.  They asked the developer to revise his proposal in response to concerns relating to height, proximity to the shipyards, impact on heritage, the port and coast, infrastructure and services in the community. A mixed-use development was suggested with residential in part - this was in line with response Save Williamstown has received from the community.  Council and the community agreed.

SEE THE COUNCIL’S DRAFT MINUTES Council rejected the application on i December and said that the applicant should resumit.  If the developers resubmitted documents are accepted then the application would have proceedsed to advertising when written responses from third parties would be invited.

Hobsons Bay City Council has issued THREE Fact Sheets and independent Urban Design Advice concerning the proposed planning scheme amendment. They can be viewed here.

However on 26th March the Minister Justin Madden decided to ignor the democratic process and rezone the site RESIDENTIAL and appoint an “independent” committee to decide on what can be built on the site. 

SO COMMUNITY AND THIRD PARTY CONSULTATION IS NO MORE A RIGHT, OUR PETITION TO PARLIAMENT IS IGNORED AND THE APPLICATION IS NOW IN THE HANDS OF THE MINISTER.

A PROTEST MEETING WAS HELD AT THE SITE ON 29TH MARCH 2010.

Local ALP Member of Parliament for Williamstown Wade Noonan has issued his own Press Release, and Save Williamstown has also issued a press release.

A further public meeting was held at which Colleen Hartland Greens member of the Legislative Council explained that she would move in parliament for the MInister’s decision to be disallowed on the grounds that he was acting against the Planning and Environment Act in rezoning part of the defined area of the Williamstown Shipyards when he was not allowed to rezone it until he had a Strategic Plan for the Shipyards accepted by both houses of Parliament and gazetted.  Also at that meeting it was decided to hold another Rally “Public Funeral for Local Democracy”.

On 14th April Colleen Hartland moved the motion in Parliament but both the ALP and Liberals didn’t support it.  Save Williamstown members demonstated on the steps of Parliament House in Spring St.

On 8th May the “Public Funeral for Local Democracy” was held with 600 attending.  See the webpage Funeral Gallery for photos and report.

Our NEWS pages provide a sequential history of all that has happened over the past 14 months.

Other activities of Save Williamstown has been:
Rallies and Public Meetings
Trivia Night Fund Raiser. SEE PHOTOS
Community Consultation on APPROPRIATE Alternative Designs
Submissions to the Foreshore Plan
Contacts with state and federal politicians and local businesses

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