The Places Victoria Property Development Agency is ‘investigating the potential renewal of 433 Smith Street, Fitzroy North‘. This is a thinly disguised first step in the sell-off of the Fitzroy Gasworks.
The public can ‘engage’ with the process at fitzroygasworks.places.vic.gov.au. There are information sessions on Wed 25 May 6-8 pm and Sunday 29 May at 10am-12pm.
You are urged to provide input to the consultation at fitzroygasworks.places.vic.gov.au. Don’t be cowed by a greedy corporate takover of this inner northern suburb. Let them know what you think of this sell out.
Where is the Fitzroy Gasworks?
The Fitzroy Gasworks is a disused 4 Ha site owned by the public through the state of Victoria.
The site is an island surrounded by major roads – Alexandra Parade, Queens Parade, George St and Smith St. It lies in the electorate of Melbourne and border the electorate of Batman along Smith Street.
The public will be locked out
Citizens be warned. This is a consultation commissioned by Places Victoria property development agency, the same outfit that created Docklands and is part of the planning corpocracy that is run for the benefit of developers, not dwellers. Note that the consultations are called ‘information sessions’.
Disturbingly, their flyer says
the site provides an opportunity to create a fresh and vibrant mixed-use development with new homes, shops, cafes, and offices. New community facilities and public open space are also being investigated.
Mixed-use development is a given, community facilities only ‘being investigated’.
The community facilities are being downplayed right from the get-go. This is a private development vision. Open space will be secondary to profit. The plan is to to remove 4.5 m of contaminated soil from almost the entire site and create a huge multi-level basement car park to service skyscraper apartments.
The driver is that the site is expensive to clean up, so the public land must be sold off to pay for it. They warn us not to get too excited about any immediate potential for the site.
We should fear a sell-off. We have already seen off one attempt for a land swap with the Nicholson St Bus Terminus.
Note that Yarra has already prepared an Urban Design Framework (UDF) for the site. It is not clear why Places Victoria need to usurp Yarra’s plan with their own Master Plan?
According to Yarra’s UDF
SOIL CONTAMINATION: REMOVAL & CAPPING Remediation to deal with contamination from former gasworks on the site is likely to entail:
- West side: Excavate to nominal depth of 4.5 metres. Area approx. 14,334 square metres.
- East side: Excavate to nominal depth of 4.5 metres. Area approx. 20,368 square metres.
- Gore Street alignment: Cap and retain as open easement.
What’s it worth?
Excluding the Gore Street alignment, there’s a large parcel of 34,700 square meters of land with almost no development constraints from adjacent owners. What would the site be worth?
In February, a large 8,500sqm site in Fitzroy North on the opposite side of Queens Parade site sold for $40-45million. There are plans afoot for over 475 apartments on this former K.G. Luke factory site in towers up to sixteen stories. The site has some constraints on height on its north.
Disturbingly, this development is being considered in isolation of the Gasworks ‘master plan’. As is the former Gerard Industries site on the other side of George St.
As the Gasworks is well over four times the size of the K.G. Luke site, it could be worth $183 million. Subtract $30 million for the excavations and you have a clean slate on which to build.
A 4.5m deep excavation of 34,700 square meters will create a huge parking lot. With 25sqm per car park and three levels that would be another 4100 cars to add the Inner North’s streets. It’s a new suburb on a scale similar to Alphington Paper Mill.
Help keep the Gasworks as a public community asset
The 3068 Group call on the government to keep the Gasworks for public purposes. While some private development is acceptable, public land should not be sold off before the government has done a complete needs analyis for the inner north region. Is the government sure that no new primary or high schools will be required in the next 50 years? What about land for the growing demand for health and aged care? Is there sufficient land to meet the needs of affordable housing? Once a thorough needs analysis is complete, surplus land can be privatatized.
Members of the 3068 Group and the Clifton Hill and North Fitzroy community must speak up to reduce the risk of a repeat of the scandalous rezoning of Fishermans Bend, where a report found
the decision to allow unfettered high rise development of Fishermans Bend in industrial South Melbourne and Port Melbourne was taken without a strategy or funds for decontamination, transport, open space or affordable housing.
The rezoning created a gold mine benefiting senior Liberal Party figures and donors. It made it unaffordable for the State to purchase former industrial land for schools or parks.
Schools in Clifton Hill, North Fitzroy, and Fitzroy are already overcrowded.
We need to advocate for a better vision!
In 1986 the old South Melbourne Gasworks was recreated as Gasworks Arts Park. On eight acres [3.2Ha] of beautiful parkland, Gasworks is now a thriving community arts centre owned by the City of Port Phillip. The heritage industrial buildings now house two theatres, art galleries, artist studios, workshop spaces and more.
Why is the inner north treated differently?
Possible Public Uses for the gasworks site
Many public uses have been proposed by residents responding to out 2007 survey. The Yarra Council has advocated for an indoor sports facility on this site since at least the Indoor Sports Centre Feasibility Study – June 2004 Minutes. In 2015, Council reconvened a steering group to achieve this.
The 3068 Group’s Consultation for the Gasworks
The Planning Victoria consultants were suspicious of The 3068 Group and repeatedly asked about our membership numbers, structure and representation.
For the record, we are republishing the results of a the consultation we completed ten years ago for the gasworks.
The 3068 Group Research into Community Aspirations
What you asked for
Members of the 3068 Group conducting a consultation in Edinburgh Gardens, Nov 2006.
A Fresh Food market
The 3068 Group has advocated for the fresh food market on the site. Fresh food markets provide a popular alternative to the supermarket duopoly and connect producers more closely to consumers. They generate social and environmental dividends.
A market could be started without major infrastructure or digging into the toxic sludge. It does not need a $20 million cleanup. Movement of produce and refuse collection would have little impact on existing traffic or neighbours.
A market could use the existing giant sheds or be located outside in good weather. The site already has ample parking and is next to the #86 tram and close to the #11 tram. The site is isolated from residents. Access to the site from the Napier St bike path would need to be improved as the only access today is from Smith St.
The 3068 Group 