About the Train and Tram Zone Activity Centres Program
The proposal wants to change land that is currently General Residential Zone overlay (GRZ) into Housing Choice and Transport Zone (HCTZ). This new HCTZ overlay will change the maximum building height from 2-storeys to 6-storeys in residential streets and up to 20-storeys in immediate proximity to train stations. The proposal also aims to introduce a Built Form Overlay (BFO) which permits the construction of apartments via ‘deemed to comply standards’. This means if a development meets the requirements of the BFO then planning applications cannot be objected or refused. You and your council have no pathway for objection.
The proposal is investigating different ‘Activity Centres’ (which translates to train stations). For Glen Eira, the government has grouped together Elsternwick, Caulfield, Glen Huntly, Ormond, and Bentleigh train stations into a singular proposal called Caulfield to Bentleigh and Elsternwick. Though McKinnon is not a designated Activity Centre, the government has included catchment areas surrounding McKinnon Station.
Each train station has three different catchments called the Core, Inner, and Outer.
Core = building heights up to 20-storeys
Inner = building heights up to 6-storeys
Outer = building heights up to 4-storeys
Importantly, the Inner and Outer catchments are in normal residential streets. These streets do not have the capacity to deal with such increases in housing density and the subsequent increase in the number of incoming residents.
Additionally, the Outer catchment is meant to only extend to 800m walking distance from any Activity Centre. However, if you look at the maps, you will see the catchments extend beyond this distance.
For example, Amelia Street in McKinnon is a 1.5km walk from Ormond Station and a 1.6km walk from Bentleigh Station. Even if you measure from McKinnon Station (which is not an Activity Centre and should not be used to encompass an 800m walking distance) the north end of Amelia Street is a 1.1km walk.
Impacts this proposal will have on you
There are no benefits for existing community members of the Glen Eira area. This proposal only includes high-density apartments, with no plans to increase services to accommodate for an influx of people in the area (such as schools, parks, medical clinics, and transport upgrades).
Click below to see the impacts on you:
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The construction of high-density apartments in residential streets reduces the value of all houses within that street, particularly those adjacent to the developments. Take a look below at the Bent Street case study, and ask yourself if you would like to live in a street that looks like this? We bet the answer is no!
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High-density dwellings ruin street appeal, requiring the removal of established vegetation to accommodate their size. They are large and menacing, casting shadows on the street and creating significant overlookings into otherwise private backyards. Imagine there are now 10 strangers up in their apartments, all watching you and your children in your own backyard - now you have zero privacy!
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With these changes in planning policy, it removes the decision making from Local Council, and by extension the citizens of Glen Eira. Instead, unelected bureaucrats from the Department of Transport and Planning are taking charge to ruin your livelihood, permitting the construction of these high-density apartments as-of-right.
You will have no say in these buildings, no objection pathway, and the Local Council will be unable to stop their construction.
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Roads cannot cope with the increase in residents. There is not enough parking and the streets are not wide enough to support traffic requirements of high-density dwellings.
As it stands, the local train stations are at capacity during peak-hour periods. With the addition of so many apartments and the residents that come with them, the stations and train line won’t be able to cope. Imagine waiting at the train platform, only to see a train arrive that is already full!
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The local primary and secondary education system will crumble under the added pressure of additional residents and their children. For example;
McKinnon Secondary College is already operating at capacity of 3,100 students (a doubling of students in eight years). There is simply not enough space for more students, even with the new campus that was recently built in 2022. Today the Year 7 classes are from 7A to 7Z (26 classes!)
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Our medical facilities are already stretched, with many clinics not accepting new patients in a number of years. An influx of residents into the area will only put these services into further disarray, resulting in longer wait times to be seen, rushed medical care, and ultimately a decline in general health.
Case Study
Bent Street, Bentleigh - Five Years Apart
Bent Street in Bentleigh is a classic example of severe overdevelopment.
2013 - Google Street View in 2013 shows a regular suburban street, with normal houses and few cars parked in the street during the day.
2018 - A mere 5 years later the street is overshadowed by four-storey apartment complexes and cars lining the street. There is significant traffic along the street, and graffiti lines the walls of new developments.
Bent Street (Google Street View, 2013)
Bent Street (Google Street View, 2018)