• Footscray, Yarraville, Braybrook Star

By Charlene Gatt

9th February 2010 11:05:23 AM

---

THE proposed Highpoint expansion has attracted the ire of residents after town planners were reluctant to budge on key issues in a planning forum last week.

GPT Development manager Damien O’Connor and town planner Maugan Bastone from Urbis sat with objectors to the development on Thursday and agreed to make concessions to block out noise and light.

The meeting hit a snag when residents called for the 17-metre setback between the new multi-level car park and residents’ homes to be brought back to 36 metres as defined in Maribyrnong City Council’s 2006 Highpoint structure plan.

“No one in this room wants to stop the development; we only want it modified,” Warrs Rd resident Robert Brunner told the forum.

But residents left the meeting unimpressed after Mr Bastone said the 17-metre setback would not be amended.

“Yes, we’re outside the boundaries, no, we’re not going to change it. We’re trying to justify it … there’s a significant overall setback, we’re willing to negotiate on sound and we’re offering landscaping opportunities to soften its appearance.

“You’re already opposite a car park, you’re already opposite a leading regional shopping centre. There’s got to be some reasonable point, when you live adjacent to a regional shopping centre, where you’re going to have some effects. We’re going to try and control it as best as we can.”

“To do this any other way, the structure (multi-level car park) would have to go higher,” Mr O’Connor added.

The proposed development would add two extra floors of shopping space in the north-east corner of the Highpoint site (towards Raleigh Rd).

Plans viewed by Star include an improved ring road circling the entire centre, new retail stores, a new department store and fresh food market area – complete with butcher, baker and fruit and vegetable stores – spanning two floors. The development would also scrap the existing north-east car park, which will be re-incarnated as two multi-level car parks leading into the centre.

GPT tended the planning permit for the development on behalf of the centre’s owners, Highpoint Property Group and the GPT Wholesale Shopping Centre Fund in September last year.

The planning permit will be voted on at this month’s council meeting, which will be held next Tuesday.

Mr O’Connor said Highpoint would pursue the matter at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal if the permit was refused.

---

Popular Stories