Protectors of Public Lands Victoria deplore the decision of Minister Hulls to approve the Northcote Plaza tower development with its potential to destroy All Nations Park and the residential amenity of an entire neighbourhood. We see that this is a consequence of imposing Melbourne 2030 - the Bracks planning blueprint - on metropolitan Melbourne.

Melbourne 2030 is fatally flawed. The central assumption of Melbourne 2030, that a large population of ‘empty nesters’ and retirees living in a house on the proverbial quarter acre block will "downsize" and move into high-rise apartments in Activity Centres (such as Northcote), is just plain wrong. This will not happen as they are staying put in their houses. This is proved by Dr Bob Birrell, Director of Monash University Centre for Population and Urban Research, and his team in their recently released report - Melbourne 2030: Planning Rhetoric versus Urban Reality.

Planning Minister Hulls appears to be unaware that last year saw almost continuous protests over implementation of Melbourne 2030. These were over high-rise tower developments in suburban Brandon Park, Brunswick, Burnley, Camberwell, Frankston, Glenroy, Kew, Mitcham, Parkville and Wheelers Hill as well as Northcote.

It is quite extraordinary that Minister Hulls could knock back the Glenroy Twin Towers development (11 and 8 storey towers) about the same time as the approval of the Northcote development (10 and 8 storey towers) went through. This lack of consistency in planning decision-making is quite worrying.

PPL VIC wishes DADA well with the campaign to resist high-rise in your suburb and to save your Park from encroachment by developers who appear to be out to make a fast buck at community expense.

Yours sincerely

Julianne Bell

Secretary

Protectors of Public Lands Victoria