NOVEMBER 1, 2017 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + THE WEST’S BEST PROPERTY GUIDE
Social units go-ahead By Benjamin Millar
Club kicks in for teen
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Almost 60 new social housing units will be built in Footscray and Maidstone to house the homeless after the state government used its powers to fast-track the project. Launch Housing last year submitted plans with Maribyrnong council to locate 57 new relocatable homes on nine Ballarat Road sites owned by VicRoads. Maribyrnong councillors unanimously granted approval for the $5 million project, but residents applied to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to block the roll-out of 27 of the units on four land parcels – effectively stopping the proposal in its tracks. Planning Minister Richard Wynne used his powers to “call in” the project before it reached VCAT on the basis that the proceedings involved a major issue of policy – using surplus government land for social housing. Star Weekly can exclusively reveal that Mr Wynne will confirm his backing of the proposal on Wednesday (November 1). “This project is too important to be stymied by delays at VCAT,” he says in a prepared statement. “We’ve fast-tracked the process to ensure the dwellings can be built and community concerns are addressed.” A two-person advisory committee held a public hearing in August and submitted its report to Mr Wynne in September. Opponents told the committee that locating the 57 units along a 650-metre stretch of Ballarat Road would form an intensive cluster with a “trailer park appearance” and create social division. But committee chair Alison Glynn and member John Glossop found the proposal was unlikely to create an enclave of disadvantage, “let alone a ‘ghetto’ ”. They recommended the planning minister approve the permits with conditions including changes to landscaping, fence heights and waste management. Launch Housing deputy chief executive Heather Holst said opponents had been afforded the normal opportunities “and then some”. “It’s been our experience that the best thing we can do is make the project really good, and in a couple of years’ time everyone will just think it is a normal part of the landscape,” she said. Helen, a member of Launch Housing’s Lived Experience Advisory Group, said stable housing such as that proposed was a crucial step in her journey from homelessness. “You want to respect the property you are living in,” she said. “I don’t think neighbourhoods need to be concerned.”
The local community is rallying behind a Spotswood Football Club member whose life has ground to a halt because of a rare disorder attacking his kidneys. Maribyrnong College student Marcus Swan, 15, now does limited study in hospital in between dialysis while awaiting a kidney transplant. At 10, Marcus was diagnosed with Henoch-Schonlein purpura, which causes blood vessels to become inflamed. In 2014, the family moved to Maidstone and Marcus started playing and running water for seniors and reserves at Spotswood where his mum Fran started working as a senior trainer. However, this year Marcus’s kidney function markedly declined and he is now undergoing dialysis three days a week and will require a transplant. “Currently, myself and Marcus’s grandmother are being tested as possible matches for kidney donation,” Ms Swan said. “However, this process can take anywhere between two and 12 months.” Ms Swan, a single mother of four, is unable to work while caring for Marcus. “Two months ago, he had 85 per cent kidney function and now he’s got nothing,” she said. “He’s on the donor list, so I’ve had to stop everything to be with him.” The community has rallied to support the family by setting up a GoFundMe page to raise $5000. Spotswood Football Club president Alan Given said it has been heartbreaking for everyone at the club. “What we identified we could do, was put a fundraiser together to help alleviate some of the financial pressures this has placed on Fran and the family,” Mr Given said. For more details visit gofundme.com/ help-marcus-his-family Goya Dmytryshchak
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