Save Williamstown reports on how the developer is doing community consultation.

After failing to provide evidence of the required community/stakeholder consultation in the documents submitted to Hobsons Bay Council as part of their application in August 2009, Evolve developer, Ashley Williams and Public Relations consultant Suzanne Northey of JUMP Consulting are playing catch up and making presentations to a range of organisations and clubs in Williamstown.  They are trying to sell the message that Williamstown is no different to any other growth suburb such as St Kilda and Richmond, and Williamstown has to pull its share and contribute to the Melbourne Metropolitan housing targets of Melbourne@5Million in a robust way.  Apparently there are no other 3 hectare  sites in Williamstown that could be used for High Rise High Density Dwellings.  That is questionable!

The views of these outsiders from the Eastern Suburbs seem at huge variance with the realities of the inner West.

When asked about heritage, Williams didn’t seem to have any appreciation of the heritage values and tourism values of Williamstown.  He seems to believe that high rise should be allowed because the heritage overlays do not really cover the Former Port Phillip Woollen Mill Site site and only the actual streetscape should have the height limits imposed.  Ask that of any WIlliamstown resident in the Government Survey Heritage Precinct who has constructed any extensions or new building in their backyard (away from the street).  In streets such as Cecil St adjacent to the site, street frontages are mostly required to be single storey and rising to 2 storeys in the backyard unless there is an existing two storey frontage. The two storey heritage overlay is over the whole area NOT just the front part of the building.  Similarly the three storey limit on the whole of Nelson Place is strictly applied in the council planning scheme.  Williams seems to think 46.5 metres or 17 storeys is okay just because it is a few metres away from the street. 

Williams has also asked about the failure to provide Private Open Space within the development, as plans submitted to council appear to show no private open space for the townhouses within the development.  Many of these townhouses and lower level apartments will be overshadowed and overlooked by the high rise towers.  If houses in Cecil St which is 100 metres away from the development are overshadowed then the dwellings within the development will clearly be overshadowed.  Overlooking is a far more serious issue than overshadowing as it applies 24/7 365 days a year and effects privacy. WIlliams seemed to contend that the modern way of housing was to go for greater density and have housing densities similar to those of terrace housing in the 19th century. However he seemed to fail to understand that in the 19th century, the houses did not have 17 storey high rise towers in their midst overlooking and overshadowing them.  It would seem that this style of housing has little to do with the needs of those living in the ground level in townhouses and apartments and more to do with the multi million dollar penthouse apartments which would ride on top of the development and make the profit for the developer.

When questioned about whether the developer had considered other uses of the site, such as a much needed business area for Williamstown, it was dismissed as not making enough profit and that residential high rise was the only way the developer would consider developing the site.  The recent increase in activity at the Shipyards did not seem to have altered the developer’s perspective, although earlier in his presentation he, himself, referred to the site having presented a buffer zone between heavy industry and the residential areas of Williamstown.

Save Williamstown has learned in the last month that local clubs and organisations have been asked to invite the developer to speak.  At the conclusion of the meetings, forms are being handed out headed “Community Consultation”. These forms will no doubt form part of the developer’s presentation to the Advisory Committee to support a case that they have, although belatedly, consulted with the community.  Unfortunately precise building proposals are still not detailed by the developer so the community still does not know what the developer will ask of the Advisory Committee and the Minister.