_NIGHTINGALE APARTMENT REFUSAL

The topical recent decision by VCAT to refuse Nightingale Apartments because it does not have any car parks has left many of us baffled and questioning where sustainable development is headed.

Nightingale Apartments is designed by Breathe Architecture, the company also behind the award winning ‘The Commons’ apartment complex, which has received support and praise for its approach to innovative and affordable design.  It makes you question how an apartment complex by the same developer, employing the same approach on the opposite side of the road is rejected?

The location of the proposed apartment complex is within minutes of various public transport options, largely reducing the need for a car and thus creating more affordable housing however, this was responded by VCAT as an unconvincing argument.

In response to the decision, the Victorian Planning and Environmental Law Association (VPELA) has organised a seminar to discuss the VCAT Nightingale decision, car parking and the future of sustainable development.

We at Collie will be interested to see what affect this decision will have on the approach to sustainable development.