AUGUST 26, 2015 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + THE WEST’S BEST PROPERTY GUIDE
Cash grants to the rescue
(Damjan Janevski)
Two Hobsons Bay life saving clubs will benefit from state government grants to help them buy new equipment. Altona Life Saving Club will use its $13,139 to replace a rusted and unsafe all-terrain vehicle used by volunteers to patrol Altona Beach and foreshore. “We’re thrilled,” club secretary Lisa Curran said. “The club is moving from strength to strength and this grant will help us continue on that path. “It’s so important we have good equipment for the kids who will be our next generation of patrollers.” Williamstown Life Saving Club will get $63,000, which it will use to buy an all-terrain vehicle, two boats and two rescue boards. It will also buy a defibrillator, an oxygen set and a first aid kit. “Altona Life Saving Club has been protecting our community since 1927 and deserves our support,” Altona District state MP Jill Hennessy said. “These grants will help give their volunteers the equipment they need to continue to save lives. “Equipment . . . is a big cost burden and this funding will go a long way towards reducing pressures on our volunteers.” ALTONA LIFE SAVING CLUB
Esther Lauaki
High-rise plans for Seddon By Benjamin Millar High-rise housing and a modern supermarket may challenge the village feel of downtown Seddon. Woolworths is understood to be seeking a 20-year lease on the rezoned 1.4-hectare site at 43-57 Buckley Street, which was sold recently to a developer for a record $20.9 million. The land is site of the Transdev bus depot and its sale was marketed with plans by architects Rothe Lowman for a $200 million development
featuring a 4430-square-metre ground-floor supermarket, 399 apartments and 557 car spaces. The site is next to Victoria University, bounded by Buckley, Walter, Arran and Albert streets. The state government reportedly sold the block to Melbourne Bus Lines in 1998 for $2.8 million. Seddon Community Group secretary Pam Mulready said the scale of any future development was likely to have a large impact on Seddon.
“I would hope, with any proposal for the site, there would be consultation with the community,” Ms Mulready said. “It could have a very high impact on the community, particularly on residents in the surrounding streets.” She said the site was underused and offered positive opportunities if the developers were willing to engage with the community. “I just hope this is not a complete exploitation and doesn’t impinge on the safety and heritage.”
Colliers International’s Trent Hobart, who helped negotiate the sale, said the site had attracted 145 inquiries and nine offers from a mix of local and offshore buyers. “The development of this site is exceptionally flexible,” he said. “The site offered developers the opportunity to develop a residential, retail, commercial or a major mixed-use development on a significant island site of activity centrezoned land.” Bus operator Transdev plans to vacate the site by July 31 next year.
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