141-149 La Trobe Street Melbourne VIC 3000

this application shoulld not be approved for this area, for this height. Surely there is some part of the cbd that shoulld be protected from greed and ugly high rise buildings amongst the beautiful buildings like the library, rmit and the theatre end of the city. have you any idea what this causes to people who either own or try to retain tenants to smaller buildings next to this type of construction. what a shame that the planning minister does not care about having sunshine throug our beautiful most livrable city but rather more interested in money. Surely the docklands & southbank is for those ugly creatures. Development for the city should be an improvement for everyone to enjoy. have you any idea what type damage this type of building causes to surrounding area, or do we just care about chinese development and money. how sad is a government that does not consider good tax & rate paying citizens of this country. i will speak out against this every opportunity i have.

perhaps australia will no longer be the lucky country and melbourne no longer the best city for lots of reasons.

rather than us give our reasons why not - how about mr matthew guy give us his reason why he woulld approve of this....

I own a low rise two storey townhouse next to the proposed development. Ours is a unique English style courtyard development within the city square and deserve protection. The development next to us will lock us out of sunlight and put us in the path of a wind tunnel created. This will leave us with limited light and significantly reduce our living condition in the most liveable city. The proposal must not go ahead.

Strongly doubt this will gain any traction whatsoever. The city has learnt from past mistakes that 'pencil' towers like this are not what is best for Melbourne. The site is only some 430 square metres with substandard road access via Bennetts Lane.

In regard of the adjoining properties, all are low rise residential blocks that would have their natural light and private open space completely wiped out as a result of this development.

Would strongly suggest Council interact directly with owners before any development of the historic Jazz Club occurs.

I am an owner/resident of unit in the residential block in La Trobe Street directly next door to what is currently Bennett’s Lane Jazz Club.

A building of 52 storeys high would greatly reduce natural light to my home, as well result in a loss of privacy, safety, and increased noise levels. I would need to ensure that my sky lighting and two angled windows are covered to avoid potential voyeurism. This would further reduce access of natural light into my home.

Access of cars to the new building would further congest Little La Trobe Street; an already congested and very narrow road way.

Myself and many others currently residing in this area would be greatly disappointed if Melbourne City Council were to discount the quality of the lifestyle of the multiple residents in the surrounding area by the construction of such a tower.

In other countries, England and Wales, the ‘Right to Light’ is protected by common law so that people's current living standards are not compromised by developer's personal interests at the expense of others. In these countries, once a window has received over 20 years of daylight, it automatically earns itself a 'Right to Light'.

I am hoping that Melbourne City Council will take into consideration the impact that such a proposal will have on its current residents.

I owner occupy a low rise unit in the adjoining residential block and have so for a number of years. I am concerned that this development is not suited to the area for the following reasons:

- Blocking natural light and permanently shading my block of units. The perfect example of this is the block of units in Hayward Lane as a result of Abode being constructed. The unit block now receives no natural light whatsoever and now looks dark, dingy and uninviting.

- Neighbours overlooking courtyards.
If approved at any height (52 storeys seems very unsuitable for the area), the design of the proposed building should include sufficient measures to reduce or eliminate overlooking.

- Neighbours overlooking roof glazing to bathrooms and bedrooms.
Many of the units in my block have glass panels in their roof design to allow for natural light. The design of the proposed building should include sufficient measures to reduce or eliminate overlooking into these areas.

- Traffic. Access to the building via Bennetts Lane will be impossible as it is a narrow one-way street in part and there is already access requirements to other buildings. Any additional use of Bennetts Lane will result in congestion within the lane and spill over of traffic and blocking of Little Lonsdale Street. This current access is not sufficient to support a building of this size. Any use of Bennetts Lane for this purpose will impact on the amenity and access to surrounding residences and businesses and further restrict traffic flow, particularly during peak periods.

Melbourne City Council should strongly consider my points raised above. If approved, this could spell disaster to the amenity of the surrounding area. Please think of the residents of this part of the Melbourne CBD and not just the rate revenue derived from yet another poorly conceived pencil tower.