Wednesday, 4 March 2026


Adjournment

Blackburn activity centre


Richard WELCH

Blackburn activity centre

 Richard WELCH (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (19:17): (2384) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Planning. It revolves around the current consultation on the Blackburn activity centre. I think there is an area of grey that would be very useful for you to clarify. We have been given building heights, according to the literature that has come out, of six, eight, 10, 12 and 16 storeys in the suburban area. But each time the actual diagrams are ambiguous. On the same bit of colour coding it will say ‘up to four storeys’ but then will say in brackets underneath ‘up to six storeys on large plots’. Immediately the community are confused: is it four or is it six et cetera? But we also had the shocking example this week of the apartment building in Brunswick which was granted extra height on the proviso that it was providing 80 per cent affordable housing. The planning minister overruled the local heights and approved a higher height on the basis of that affordable housing, and now that developer is seeking to have all the affordable housing struck out. None of it will be affordable housing, but of course the extra height will still be there. In the case of Blackburn could you please clarify in explicit language – no beating around the bush: while you have specified a maximum height of 16 storeys for certain sections of the Blackburn activity centre and 12 in others and 10 in others, is that an absolute maximum, or do you have discretion to increase the height under certain circumstances? Because if that is true, you have not disclosed that in the consultation documents that people are currently consulting on. I think it would be fair, I think it would be transparent and I think it is appropriate that you clarify that explicitly.