Stonnington City Council is closely following legal proceedings commenced this week by Bayside City Council in the Supreme Court of Victoria, seeking access to documents relating to the Victorian Government’s Train and Tram Zone Activity Centres Program.
Stonnington has a direct and significant stake in this program. Of the 60 Activity Centres identified statewide, 15 fall within Stonnington, covering 70% of our municipality. Yet our community has had no say in a program that will fundamentally reshape it. The Minister has used her powers under Section 20(4) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 to exempt the program from the notice, exhibition and consultation requirements that all Councils must follow when making planning scheme amendments. That is not an acceptable standard for decisions of this magnitude.
What makes the lack of transparency particularly disappointing is that Stonnington has already done the strategic work. Our structure plans and strategies, developed through extensive community consultation, demonstrate that Stonnington can accommodate an additional 67,000 dwellings by 2051, exceeding the State Government’s own target of 50,000 new homes for our municipality. We have shown this is achievable without compromising our heritage streetscapes, reducing sunlight to streets and parks, or diminishing residential amenity. The State Government’s approach bypasses that work entirely.
Council has received queries from residents asking whether we will join the Bayside proceedings. We are unable to do so as each council must bring its own separate application to access the same documents, which would involve significant legal cost and require Council to first exhaust a number of other available avenues. Instead, we will closely monitor the Bayside proceedings and will consider our own position in light of the outcome.
Council will also continue to engage with the State Government and candidates ahead of the upcoming State election, advocating for meaningful changes to the Activity Centres Program on behalf of our community.
– Cr Melina Sehr JP, Mayor, City of Stonnington
