A delegate for Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny approved Planning Scheme Amendment C230port and granted planning permit PA2503985. The decision rezones 2–8 Carlisle Street, 3 Albert Street and 3–9 Havelock Street from General Residential Zone Schedule 1 to a new site-specific Schedule 14.
The amendment was approved under section 20(4) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987, exempting it from the usual notice requirements. The application was assessed through the government’s Development Facilitation Program rather than Port Phillip Council’s regular permit process.
The approval allows demolition of the existing hotel buildings and construction of a residential hotel with about 204 rooms, more than double the current capacity. Plans also include food and drink premises, function rooms, a wellness facility, a rooftop bar and basement parking, together with removal of a canopy tree.
The adjoining heritage houses at 5 and 9 Havelock Street are to be altered and incorporated into the hotel as suites. The site sits within the St Kilda Hill heritage precinct, making the scale of the development and the treatment of the two houses key concerns during consultation.
An earlier eight-storey concept was reduced to seven storeys after review, but residents continued to argue that the approximately 26-metre building would be too dominant beside low-rise homes. More than 300 people reportedly signed a petition calling for the proposal to be rejected or reduced to about five storeys on Carlisle Street and three storeys towards surrounding residential streets.
Other objections focused on overlooking, overshadowing, rooftop and function-room noise, traffic and deliveries through narrow local streets, construction disruption and pressure on parking. Flooding and drainage were also contested because part of the site is covered by a Special Building Overlay and the development includes a large basement.
Supporters argue the project will replace an ageing hotel, restore substantial visitor accommodation near Acland Street, Luna Park and the Palais Theatre, and deliver new tourism, hospitality and conference facilities.
The new zoning is central to the approval. It removes the mandatory garden-area requirement that applied under the previous residential controls, permitting a larger building footprint on the site. For critics, that site-specific change underlines how far the project departs from the rules applying to neighbouring residential properties.
The decision means the fight has moved from whether the project should proceed to how it will operate. The final permit conditions and endorsed plans will determine the detailed setbacks, traffic access, drainage works, construction controls, rooftop operations and protection of the Havelock Street houses.
What has been approved
- Demolition of the existing hotel buildings
- A seven-storey residential hotel with about 204 rooms
- A café or restaurant and other food-and-drink premises
- Function rooms, a wellness facility and rooftop bar
- Basement car parking
- Alterations to 5 and 9 Havelock Street, incorporating the houses as hotel suites
- Removal of a canopy tree
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