The developer of a planned 10-storey apartment block that has been repeatedly opposed by the community, local council and state government over almost 15 years has won a VCAT fight that allows its building to overshadow part of the Port Melbourne foreshore.
The long-running battle over the derelict site at 1-7 Waterfront Place, near Station Pier, will come to an end if the City of Port Phillip decides not to mount a Supreme Court appeal within 28 days following the VCAT decision to side with the developer, Waterfront Place Pty Ltd, over shadowing.
Jill Maddox and Eddie Micallef (front) are among the Port Melbourne residents worn out after years of fighting a foreshore development.Credit:Paul Jeffers
In June 2021, Port Phillip Council granted a planning permit to Waterfront Place – which is controlled by Kuwaiti Sheikh Mubarak al-Sabah’s firm Action Group Holdings – under the condition the building did not cast shade over the Bay Trail bicycle and walking paths on winter afternoons.
However, VCAT member Picha Djohan last week removed the extra shadow conditions, and agreed with the developer’s argument that it met the council’s planning control that states overshadowing should be “minimised” rather than prohibited.
Plans show that at the June winter solstice, the building would cast a large, wide shadow over the foreshore in front of the building and cover public paths.
The council wrote in its submission to VCAT that the shading was “significant”.
“It will result in the permanent loss of the enjoyment of precious winter sun forever over a large walking distance,” it argued.
Andrew Nehme, the director of the Waterfront Place project, said he was “rapt” about the VCAT decision because the overshadowing conditions would have had a “detrimental effect” on the development and made it “unbuildable”.
Nehme appeared before the Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission in 2020, as part of an investigation into allegedly corrupt land deals in Melbourne’s south-east, over allegations of a $230,000 payment in 2016 to former Casey mayor Sam Aziz weeks after Casey Council sold a shopping centre to Action Group Holdings. IBAC has not yet released its report following this investigation.
Nehme said he was preparing to begin construction in Port Melbourne early next year.
.Credit:Monique Westermann
“It was a fantastic result,” he said. “We look forward to progressing forward and developing the site.”
Port Phillip Mayor Marcus Pearl said the council was disappointed and reviewing the VCAT decision.
The site, which has stood dilapidated with smashed windows, graffiti and fire damage for years, has been the subject of several court and VCAT cases since Mubarak’s firm acquired it in 2007.
The project’s various iterations have been opposed by residents, the council, former planning minister Richard Wynne, the Victorian Ports Corporation, local MP Martin Foley and TT Lines, which operates the Spirit of Tasmania ferry.
An artist’s impression of the development planned for 1-7 Waterfront Place, Port Melbourne.Credit:Action Group Australia
Earlier proposals included a structure that was twice as big, but those plans were gradually scaled back.
The latest plan includes 119 apartments and townhouses, with retail space, a cafe and public gym.
Community members, worn down by years of fighting, have mixed feelings. Some want to keep pushing for a better shadow solution; others want the long-neglected eyesore finally improved.
Save Port Melbourne Gateway member Jill Maddox said it was “really sad” to think the site was once a community hub with a gym, tennis courts and childcare centre, protected by a covenant preventing a high-rise structure.
Sheikh Mubarak al-Sabah in 2016.Credit:Tertius Pickard
Maddox said she wanted development that would preserve a sunny foreshore in winter, which was popular for locals and visitors.
“It means that in future in winter I won’t walk there,” she said. “We’re losing that forever.”
Beacon Cove Neighbourhood Association president Eddie Micallef said while most residents felt it was a bad outcome, the approved plan was better than past versions. The drawn-out process had left the community drained, he said.
“They want to see something done on the site,” Micallef said. “Cruise ships come in and their first sight stepping off is a bombsite.”
The Spirit of Tasmania will dock in Geelong from the end of October, but Station Pier will remain a key tourist destination for cruise ships, with 107 to visit in 2022-23.
Port Phillip Councillor Heather Cunsolo said while community fatigue was high, overshadowing was a priority because it was important to protect sunshine in key public spaces on cold days.
“You still want to get it right because it’s a massive thing coming to the area,” Cunsolo said. “My pain is that this is dragging on for such a long time.”
Urban designer Andy Fergus said sunlight determined whether a space would be used for about six months of the year, and people became “sun-seeking” in winter because the wind and cold affect us more.
“If a building overshadows a beach or a park they will not use that space during the hours it’s shadowed,” Fergus said.
He said this wasn’t an argument against development, but more about consideration for building orientation and design; for example, a wide 10-storey building creates more shadow impact than a taller, narrow one.
West of Waterfront Place are buildings ranging from 11 to 13 storeys, while eight-storey buildings are to the east.
Micallef said his organisation would push for stricter planning controls to prevent future developments overshadowing the foreshore.
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