More homes go to create small parks

The council is spending an undisclosed sum on buying homes in East St Kilda/Balaclava to create or expand small parks.

The council plans to create or expand small parks across St Kilda East / Balaclava:
– 15 Marriott Street, St Kilda (abutting Jim Duggan Reserve)
– 49, 49A & 51 Pakington Street, St Kilda (abutting Pakington Street Reserve)
– 30 Kalymna Grove, St Kilda East
– 14 Lansdowne Road, St Kilda East.

The areas acquired previously featured 15 dwellings, comprising a total of 24 bedrooms.

Mayor Louise Crawford said Port Phillip is one of Victoria’s smallest and most densely populated municipalities and more open space is desperately needed in this part of St Kilda. “We always strive to get the balance right for our community between our proud and continuing history of supporting housing and doing our best to provide open spaces,” she said.

Balaclava and St Kilda East have the lowest amount of open space of all neighborhoods in Port Phillip. Currently, Balaclava and St Kilda East have eight open spaces, making up only 5% of the total neighbourhood area. This is significantly lower than the Port Phillip average of 17%.

Housing balance sheet

In the most recent CEO Report to Council, it was reported that the plan to create more social and affordable housing was listed as ‘At Risk’. Despite that, the good news was that two projects were completed or on track, namely:
– 46 units in Marlborough St., Balaclava, with public parking replacement (complete).
– 26 units of ‘Common Ground’ housing at 28 Wellington St., St Kilda, for rough sleepers under construction and on track to deliver in mid-2025 (in progress in partnership with the Victorian Government and St Kilda Community Housing).

However, 283-334 units of affordable housing in Fishermans Bend under a planning mechanism are currently in negotiation – or ‘at risk’

Have your say before 11 April

The council invites you to have your say obout the new spaces before April 11. You can express what you would like to do or see in the new parks.
Visit the website for maps and other information

Three housing buzzwords explained

Affordable housing is defined as places available to rent at 20% below market rate. Social housing is managed by not-for-profit organisations where the operators select the tenants. Public housing is government-owned with a waiting list.

New waiting list data rshows that there were 55,024 applications sitting on the Victorian housing register in December 2024, up from 50,732 for the same time in 2023. (The Age, March 22)