Fighting the towers from Spring Street.
We are pleased with the support from Clem Newton-Brown, the Member for Prahran in the current Stonnington Leader. Clem has also spoken in Parliament this week supporting Council and the community’s request for the Planning Minister’s agreement to the exhibition of an Urban Design Framework (UDF) for the site, with a 17 metre height limit. Thank you Clem. Orrong Groupies – please add your comments to Stonnington Leader’s article.
We ask other Coalition MPs in the local area to support Clem. Prior to the November 2010 election Coalition politicians and candidates gave great support to our Fight the Towers campaign. They described the proposal for a rezoning of the site with its ghastly development proposal as a gross overdevelopment.
With a new Planning Permit application being lodged by Lend Lease in September 2011 and subsequently refused by Stonnington Council on 30 January 2012 we find we are now in a difficult situation with VCAT looming.
The Minister
OG has met with the Planning Minister.
Over the past three months we have been in touch with the Planning Minister Matthew Guy and we met with him last week. We have emphasized the urgency of our situation and have asked him to, not only agree to the exhibition of the Urban Design Framework, but more importantly to agree to the Council’s request for the placement of Interim Planning Controls (IPC) at 17 metres on the site. This means that VCAT would have to give serious regard to these planning measures.
Contact the Minister and your local MPs to seek their support for both the IPC and the UDF. This is the time right now for them to give their positive support to our campaign.
The Orrong Group 
Posted by Clem Newton-Brown (Member for Prahran). on February 29, 2012 at 4:51 pm
As your Member of Parliament, I am committed to delivering for our local community. Since you elected me I have worked hard to protect our neighbourhood character. One of the first actions of the Baillieu Government was to wind back Labor’s clearway extensions which were choking the life out of our local shopping villages and driving traffic onto local streets.
Recently I called upon the Minister for Planning to take action in the community fight against the towers proposed for 590 Orrong Rd. I sought that he exhibit the Stonnington Council’s Urban Design Framework which seeks to limit development on the site to no more than 17 metres in height. If the Minister takes this action it will send a clear message to VCAT that the views of the community should be heard. The full text of this speech in the Victorian Parliament can be found on the Hansard website.
I am committed to working hard every day in representing our local area in Parliament to make sure the interests of our community come first. I am hopeful that the Planning Minister will soon take this important step of exhibiting the Urban Design Framework.