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25 JULY, 2023
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Have a skate and a feed
Sunbury Red Frogs Boardriders Dave Parker, Matt Edwards and Dan Phythian. (Damjan Janevski)
Sunbury Red Frogs Boardriders are paving the way for skating groups in Victoria, with their fortnightly free barbecue and skating meet-ups. The meet-ups are held at the Sunbury skate park and provide an opportunity for riders from about nine to 25 years old to skate, have a chat with a volunteer, and grab something to eat. Volunteer and pastor Dan Phythian said the meet-ups have been running since about August last year, and is the only one from Red Frogs in Victoria. “It’s about being present and creating a safe environment … for kids and their families. The Red Frogs slogan is safeguarding a generation. We are the only one in Victoria … [but now] they’re looking at starting some more up because of our success.” Mr Phythian said families are also welcome to attend the event which focuses on youth wellbeing and mental health. “We are all First Aid qualified and we have First Aid kits on site … we‘re not there to teach kids how to skate but we have an encouraging environment.” Details: https://rb.gy/c2k0k
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Zoe Moffatt
Anger over apartment nod By Zoe Moffatt Hume council has been criticised for approving a controversial five-storey apartment building in Sunbury town centre, after an independent report recommended a maximum height of approximately four stories. The proposed development for 52 O’Shanassy Street was approved by council in December 2022, following 49 objections. It seeks to build a five-storey apartment building with a basement car park, a cafe or retail premises and offices.
Sunbury resident Peter Gavin attended the compulsory Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) conference on July 12, and said all parties accepted the Blades report, which was commissioned by Hume council. Mr Gavin said he paid $899 to attend the hearing and said the underlying issue is the lack of transparency from council. “The officers’ report implied that Blades considered a five-storey proposal appropriate when in fact they recommended a four-storey,” Mr Gavin said.
“This suggests a lack of transparency from Hume council … The commentary on [the development] is misleading to say the least. “We need to make sure this doesn’t happen again … This has eroded my trust in the council, and I can understand why people want Sunbury out of Hume.” The Blades report, seen by Star Weekly, provides nine recommended modifications. The first recommendation is to reduce the building height to a maximum of approximately 15 metres (four storeys). Mr Gavin said he saw the independent
urban design review mentioned in the council officer’s report from December 2022 and requested a copy. “We read the officer’s report and then after the meeting we thought we better request the independent report,” he said. “It took ages to get the copy out of them.” He said while he personally thinks four-storeys is still too high, he is happy to accept the recommendations from the independent review. ■ Continued: Page 9.
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