ACT NOW TO STOP COUNCIL GIVING AWAY PUBLIC LAND

The Stop the Elsternwick Towers community group (STET) has launched the Stop Glen Eira’s Red Spot Special campaign to stop the development of Woolworths’ multi-storey high-rise apartment towers in the heart of suburban Elsternwick.

STET has discovered new evidence (archival documents and aerial photographs) that raise serious doubts about whether the development can proceed under the current planning permit.

We are calling on the City of Glen Eira to review the new evidence, conduct due diligence on the ownership status of May Street (West), and not give away public land to private developers (Woolworths) for free.

The City of Glen Eira is planning to give public land to a private developer for free without conducting due diligence on the ownership status of the development site.

The lack of due diligence has resulted in the developer claiming ownership over a $5m parcel of land which STET believes belongs to the public.

The parcel of land in dispute, May Street (West), forms a 500sqm component of Woolworths’ larger development site and is essential for the project to proceed.

On 7 September 2022, in Fabcot Pty Ltd v Glen Eira CC, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) granted planning permission for the development of the land at 10-16 Selwyn Street, Elsternwick. 

A condition of the planning permission is that the development must not commence until evidence is provided to the satisfaction of the Responsible Authority that May Street is not a ‘road at law’. If the disputed site is deemed a ‘road at law’, the development cannot proceed under the planning permit.

Council initially formed the view that May Street (West) may be a ‘road at law’ and that it may have certain rights over the land, but it later changed its position  This reversal occurred without a publicly observable Council debate, full disclosure of submitted evidence, or the expected community consultation.

In recent weeks STET has discovered new evidence confirming the historical status of May Street (West) as a ‘road at law’ and is calling upon the City of Glen Eira to announce a review of the new evidence.