Lourdes Development

The Lourdes Development and Traffic Issues

At its meeting held on 19 July 2011, the City of Yarra decided to start work on planning for the development of the Lourdes Hub. The proposal and the response of the ACF can be viewed here:

BACKGROUND

The currently derelict building across the road from 3MBS, next to the car park, is called Lourdes. Five years ago, when the Abbotsford Convent Foundation was given the car park, the State Government gifted Lourdes to the City of Yarra for use as a child care facility. The City of Yarra has had difficulty getting a partner to deliver the child care services, so the site has lain dormant for a long time now.

But Yarra has now signed a partnership deal and is developing plans for a three-storey building for the site. In addition to the child care, they want to include two extra storeys to provide 26 apartments for ‘social affordable housing’.  When the Convent site was saved it was declared no accommodation should ever be put onto the peninsula that the Convent and Collingwood Children's Farm sit on.  The inclusion of housing blatantly ignores this.

The facility will require drop-off/pick-up parking and car spaces for staff and residents. Only 14 drop-off/pick-up parking spaces are planned for inclusion in the Lourdes site, with all other vehicles expected to use the Abbotsford Convent’s car park. This is clearly not sustainable as that car park is already under extreme pressure.

Finally, the proposed building itself is ugly and imposing – especially given how narrow St Heliers Street is. Its built form will dwarf the already over-crowded street and change the ambience of the area. We are trying to get hold of the design pics that were shown at the public meeting on Tuesday so that you can all see what it could look like.

The Abbotsford Convent Foundation will strongly object to the proposal on all three accounts noted above. We will make a personal presentation to the City of Yarra on 3 August, as will many local community members who are also very concerned about this inappropriate development. The ACF will also be running a letter-writing campaign at the Slow Food Farmers Market on Saturday 24 July. People will be encouraged to sign a letter of objection and the ACF will post all the letters to Yarra.

Our arguments will be strengthened by your voice, so any objections Council receives from tenants will assist in the campaign.  Attached here is a letter that the local residents group CARA (Collingwood & Abbotsford Residents Assoc) has already submitted to Council.  You can lodge your objection via email to the City of Yarra Councillors and key staff; this is the link to their email addresses: http://www.yarracity.vic.gov.au/Council/Councillors/ (the Convent is in Langridge Ward). Please also copy in Andi.Diamond@yarrarvity.vic.gov.au (CEO) and Craig.Kenny@yarrarvity.vic.gov.au (Director, Community Programs Division). Or post your letter to: PO Box 168 Richmond 3121. Please act before before 3 August.

The City of Yarra at their meeting on Tuesday 17 August 2010, voted to continue with developing a child care facility on the Lourdes site. The residential component of the development will not proceed. Council also decided to proceed with further design work which 'might include maximising child care places and expanding allied community service space.' This means that design work for the facility will continue before the precinct wide traffic management study is finished.

The council held a community consultation meeting on Tuesday 24 August 2010 where the traffic management consultant presented seventeen options to resolve the existing safety and traffic management issues. These include a number of options that use the ACF car park and other areas of ACF land. One option (to use the Lourdes site) was immediately removed as an option by the City of Yarra. The presentation prepared by traffic management consultants, HDS, for the City of Yarra can be viewed here.

Further consultation meetings are planned and everyone concerned about the existing safety and traffic congestion issues in the area should attend. The ACF will continue to work with the City of Yarra, the Childrens Farm and other stakeholders to make sure any development of the Lourdes site does not compound the existing intolerable and unsafe traffic conditions - nor adversely affect the Convent and Children's Farm car park.

If you have any suggestions, strategies, expertise, time to offer to this campaign, please get in touch with us asap.