New home for NDIS FRANKSTON NDIS has a new home. The NDIS agency has moved to the Services Australia Centre at Bayside Shopping Centre. The centre now hosts Centrelink and Medicare services as well. Dunkley MP Peta Murphy says she hopes the move will “enhance the face to face experience that NDIS participants have with important government services.” “The new Services Australia Centre is a terrific facility,” she said.
The new NDIS home is near the Beach Street entrance of the shopping centre.
DUNKLEY MP Peta Murphy at the Frankston Services Centre Australia site with former opposition leader and current NDIS minister Bill Shorten. Picture: Supplied
PROTESTERS by Kananook Creek last week. Picture: Gary Sissons
Mayor defends high-rise development plans Continued from page 1 “Frankston has been identified by the state government as one of 10 existing metropolitan activity centres. As a designated metropolitan activity centre, Frankston is emerging as one of Melbourne’s most important commercial precincts, transforming itself into a vibrant new city and the capital of the south-east,” Conroy said. “The change is already underway. New businesses are setting up in our CBD, our arts and tourism sector is nationally recognised, and governments at all levels are investing significantly in healthcare, transport and education. “Under the draft FMAC Structure Plan October 2022, the development objectives for this part of our city centre are to activate Kananook Creek Boulevard and Promenade, Nepean Highway, and nearby streets with retail, restaurants, cafes, arts and entertainment uses across the day and night, and to support residential
and office uses on upper levels of buildings. The draft structure plan provides guidance on height and specifies built form requirements to set back upper levels with significant gaps to reduce the visual bulk of buildings when viewed from the foreshore and other surrounding areas. “It’s also worth noting that there are currently no proposals for new developments directly on the foreshore.” The 14-storey Harbour proposal was assessed against the 2015 Frankston metropolitan activity centre structure plan, and the 2022 draft FMAC structure plan. The draft plan is yet to be finalised. The petition organisers say they are especially concerned about the planning controls for height limits within the new FMAC structure plan. The plan outlines a series of “preferred building heights”, which may be exceeded at council’s discretion. The highest preferred building height
in the 2022 draft FMAC structure plan is 54 metres. The preferred height for the site where the Harbour building has been approved is 41 metres. The building is proposed to stand 42.5 metres tall excluding the lift overrun and roof top amenities. Conroy said “the Victorian government’s approach to height controls in activity centres are preferred height limits, combined with clear design objectives that include elements such as street and upper level setbacks, and access to sunlight in adjacent areas. These preferred height limits can be exceeded, subject to strategic justification and are required to meet the design objectives.” Objectors expect VCAT to consider the Harbour proposal in June. In addition to the Harbour and Pace projects, a 24-metre tall building has also been approved for 389 Nepean Highway (“Big building approved at motel site”, The Times, 6/2/2023).
Frankston Times
7 March 2023
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