SPECIAL Newsflash

SPECIAL Newsflash

VCAT REFUSED THE BECTON PLAN ON 30/10/03

Dear all

As you may now know, yesterday VCAT determined to refuse the Becton plan for the Eastern Precinct development. This is a great relief to the Carlton community. The Carlton neighbourhood is saved from a monolithic building which would have been a visual blight for generations! It was our turn to make sure it did not get built. We have been successful due to the support and expertise of the many lay and expert witnesses who went that little bit extra further to present a strong case with passion! Thank you all. The decision can be seen in full at the weblink on the next page. Our website manager Lee Bradshaw has extracted some of the key parts for you all to savour.

This is a great decision for Carlton. We agree with the Tribunal that a sensible and clever design is required for development of the Eastern Precinct. We hope the University of Melbourne ensures the next plan is just that.

Sue Chambers

President

135. The evidence clearly showed that, from a design perspective, the choice of design was neither performance nor policy driven, but client driven. We do not criticise this modus operandus, but it has failed the client in this case.

138. ... a return on investment from utilisation of an existing resource saw the placement of the third eleven storey link building with its offset H-branch directly over the underground piers that had been strengthened with this future purpose in mind, when the underground car park was being built between 1998-2000. Thus the location of part of the development at least, the part closest to some of the best preserved 19th century environment in inner Melbourne, the low rise, low scale Carlton heritage precinct, was dictated by economics, not by policy and design objectives.

141. … we well understand that economics must also dictate private sector development, otherwise as a matter of reality there simply would be none. But that in itself is no justification for what is not acceptable in planning terms. The purpose of good planning is to strike a balance between conflicting objectives in favour of net community benefit and sustainable development

182. It is the choice of built form that ultimately fails the tests. We agree ... that large scale built form is contemplated on this site, but it must be more sensitively and cleverly designed.

187. But a logical and consistent analysis ... leads to the irresistible conclusion that the cliff approach does not achieve the level of respect that needs to flow between the prominent Swanston Street precinct and the culturally valued Carlton heritage precinct.

190. … we think that what is required to achieve an acceptable built form outcome for this site necessitates a fundamental redesign which goes beyond the scope of what could be accomplished by amending plans.