As the City of Melbourne seeks new opportunities and ways to enable growth in the city, a proposal has been developed to sell four properties that are no longer being used for a Council service. If the properties are sold, the proceeds would be reinvested into city-shaping infrastructure projects and the capital works program.

The four properties are:

• 47-49 Canning Street, Carlton
• 100-104 A’Beckett Street, Melbourne
• 505-513 Abbotsford Street, North Melbourne
• 30-38 Gatehouse Drive, Kensington.

Before deciding on the sale of Council land, a formal statutory process pursuant to section 114 of the Local Government Act 2020 needs to be carried out, which includes undertaking a community engagement process to ensure deliberative and targeted community participation.

The consultation was open between 4 July and 7 August 2022.

The main feedback platform was an online survey on the Participate Melbourne website. Respondents could indicate whether they supported or not support the sale of each property and explain the justification for their response. Respondents could choose which properties to comment on, so the four properties garnered different numbers of responses.

Current tenants of the properties were contacted in person, via telephone, and by email. Nearby residents were sent a letter about the proposal and offered an opportunity to provide feedback through Participate Melbourne. Paid social media ads were promoted via Council social media channels, and the proposal was also shared with and discussed at various community group meetings like the Kensington Community Network.

Number of respondents who offered an opinion on each property:

• 77-49 Canning Street, Carlton: 246
• 100-104 A’Beckett Street, Melbourne: 250
• 505-513 Abbotsford Street, North Melbourne: 259
• 30-38 Gatehouse Drive, Kensington: 682

The levels of support for the proposed sales of the four properties were:

• 35 per cent supported the sale of 47-49 Canning Street and 65 per cent supported its retention.
• 19 per cent supported the sale of 100-104 A’Beckett Street and 81 per cent supported its retention.
• 15 per cent supported the sale of 500-513 Abbotsford Street and 85 per cent supported its retention.
• 8 per cent supported the sale of 30-38 Gatehouse Drive and 92 per cent supported its retention.

Respondents who supported the sale of the properties were most often on the following grounds:

• Would like to see the proceeds used for improving Melbourne.
• Believe that returning properties to the market could contribute to easing the housing crisis.
• Believe that the funds from the sale of underutilised properties should be used to invest in social and affordable housing and other community purposes.
• Support utilisation that activates the area and allows properties to meet their full potential.
• Agree that properties are an eyesore and underutilised.

Respondents who supported the retention of the properties were most often on the following grounds:

• Value having a community owned asset more than the one-off capital gain from selling an asset.
• Would prefer underutilised council properties to be repurposed for community services or affordable housing.
• Were worried about the properties being sold to developers and the buildings losing their heritage value.
• Consider the current tenants offer high community value, with a large proportion expressing concern for current tenants.
• The sale of the Gatehouse Drive property was opposed in significant numbers owing to passionate support for the current tenants (MAMA Services).

Respondents wanted to see more information on how proceeds would be used and the reasons for each individual property being surplus to Council requirements.

Respondents implied that there would be greater acceptance for the sale of council properties if assurance could be given that the funds would directly benefit the community, especially by way of affordable housing.

Regarding the properties at Canning Street, Abbotsford Street and A’ Beckett Street, the majority of respondents identified their primary connection as living in the area.

For Gatehouse Drive, over half of respondents (73 per cent) stated that their primary connection was attending a service at the property.

75 per cent of respondents to the community engagement were female. This may be explained by the fact that the property at Gatehouse Drive, which garnered by far the most feedback, is currently the site of MAMA Services.

The community engagement findings have been shared with Council to inform the decision to sell or retain the four properties. Council will be reviewing this at the Future Melbourne Committee meeting on 22 November and then at the Council meeting on 29 November.