A report prepared for Greater Shepparton City Council recommends approval of the sale of the airspace above the car park to social housing enterprises Wintringham and BeyondHousing for $1.
The sale, and development of the site for social housing, has been opposed by the neighbouring Shepparton ACE Secondary College and a group of residents.
Of the 733 submissions during public consultation, 706 opposed the proposed sale of the airspace.
Council’s response was to commission additional reports which justify the sale and development of the land, ruling out alternate sites and dismissing many of the concerns raised by opponents.
In particular, the officers’ report prepared for the Tuesday, June 21, meeting states that while the neighbouring ACE Secondary College raised many understandable concerns based on the conceptual plans, “these are not concerns that cannot be mitigated through changes to internal school policies, or mitigated through design of the apartment building”.
The report cites in detail the critical need for new social housing in Shepparton and states that the council must consider what evidence is being put forward to substantiate the claims being made in submissions versus the facts and evidence being provided by the sector and the additional work commissioned by the council.
Failure to support the proposal is characterised as an extreme reputational risk for the council.
“In this context, council needs to be brave, and demonstrate leadership on this issue, particularly given there are no sound reasons for rejecting this proposal,” the report urges.
A Social Impact Assessment Report commissioned by the council after public consultation was prepared by consultancy Ethos Urban.
The report finds the 31-unit car park development and a separate proposal for a 45-unit development by Women’s Housing Ltd on council land off Parkside Dve, Shepparton, “... are both suitable for social housing and are not overly concentrated when considered in light of overall supply of social housing and the site contexts.”
The proposed sale of the car park airspace and the Parkside Dve land will both be determined at the June 21 meeting, which commences at 3pm.
