NEWS DESK
Rooming house control ‘weak’
Elderly man hit, killed by roadside AN elderly man was hit and killed by a car while standing next to his wife by the side of the Nepean Highway at Frankston on Thursday. Police said the elderly couple had been driving south on Nepean Highway before parking their vehicle opposite the beach near the bottom of Olivers Hill just before the incident occurred about 12.15pm. The man and woman were standing to rear of their car, possibly waiting to cross over the road, when a white Ford station wagon “veered off the road and struck the man”, police said. Their car, which was parked in a parking lane beside the highway, was also clipped by the vehicle. The man was thrown onto the bonnet and windscreen of the vehicle before landing on the road about 20 metres away. Paramedics arrived shortly after the incident and attempted to revive the man, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman was not injured but was treated by ambulance paramedics for shock. The driver of the station wagon, a 31-year-old man, stopped at the crash
Stephen Taylor steve@baysidenews.com.au
Fatal crash: An elderly man died after being struck by a white Ford station wagon while standing with his wife beside their parked vehicle on the Nepean Highway at Frankston on Thursday. Picture: Gary Sissons
scene and is assisting police with their investigation. The highway was closed for more than five hours as major collision investigation unit officers assessed the crash site. Investigators have asked for anyone who witnessed the incident to contact police through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or www.crimestoppersvic.com.au Six days earlier, a 46-year-old woman was seriously injured in a hit and run incident after being struck while riding her bike on the Nepean Highway in Frankston. The 46-year-old woman was cycling south in the left hand lane of the highway about 10.55am on Friday 22 July when she was hit outside Dan Murphy’s liquor outlet between Ross Smith Ave and Wells St. Police said a Holden station wagon suddenly veered from the middle land
of the highway across her path causing her to collide with the side of the vehicle. “The driver then turned into the car park without stopping, before driving off towards Key St,” a police spokesperson said. “Bystanders attempted to chase the driver on foot but with no success.” The Frankston woman was taken to The Alfred in a serious condition with suspected spinal injuries. Detectives from the Frankston crime investigation unit investigating the incident have appealed for the driver involved to come forward. Witnesses described the vehicle as a late-model white Holden commodore station wagon. Anyone who witnessed the incident or who may have information on the whereabouts of the Holden or its driver is urged to contact Crime Stoppers. Chris Brennan
NEIGHBOURS frustrated and angry at the squalid living conditions and questionable behaviour of tenants at Frankston rooming houses have found there is little they – or the Frankston Council – can do about it. A 17-signature petition calling for a “review” of a rooming house at 17 Finlay St last week only served to remind councillors of their impotence in overseeing the planning and management of rooming houses under current state government legislation. The signatories – from Finlay and Taketa streets – have been advised there is no legislation to guide the council in dealing with the location or concentration of shared housing, and that local government has little control over its construction or operation. Community concerns over the management and location of rooming houses has been going on for years. The council claims to have “actively lobbied the state government through its local member, Consumer Affairs and the Minister for Health on this issue over a number of years”. The government has not taken up the council’s suggestion to amend the planning scheme and building code to ensure “appropriate” management of rooming houses.
An officer’s report to council on Monday 28 July said: “There are numerous state government policies and Acts that, combined, provide an effective way in which to minimise local government’s ability to ensure rooming houses are operated in the best interest of tenants and the neighbourhood alike. “The issue of rooming houses has been an ongoing area of concern to council and body of work for officers. It is considered that a change in state legislation is required.” In line with state government legislation: • The development at 17 Finlay Street as shared housing does not require a planning permit and issues associated with parking, landscape, rubbish collection, drainage, utility connections “and a potential decrease of liveability” could not be considered by the council [when the building was first mooted]. • Shared housing is “a reasonable land use within a residential zone”. It is common practice for rooming houses to be designed with less than 10 habitable rooms so they only require a building permit - often issued by a private building surveyor – and not a planning permit which would attract greater scrutiny. Two managers from council met the petitioners in mind-July to explain the regulations for shared housing. Continued Page 14
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