Mr Hibbins to ask the Minister for Housing —
My question is to the Minister for Housing, and I ask the minister: what is the latest information on the Bangs Street public housing estate redevelopment in the Prahran electorate?
Many local residents in the area are concerned that the buildings are now sitting apparently vacant. People are seeing an increase in antisocial behaviour and a build-up of rubbish in and around the area, with a concern for personal safety.
The amenity of the area is significantly impacted by having this a vacant site. With no confirmed dates for demolition and a rebuild, who knows how long they will have to live with this happening all around them. It is all the more galling that it sits vacant whilst homelessness is on the rise and more and more people are on the public housing waiting list.
The Bangs Street site, along with other public housing sites in the Prahran electorate, including Essex Street and Browning Walk, have been neglected for decades and are a prime location for new and increased public housing homes to reduce homelessness and the public housing waiting list.
I urge the minister to redevelop Bangs Street and public housing estates to 100 per cent public housing as soon as possible.
Answer – 20 February 2020
The Victorian Government is committed to providing better homes and stronger communities for all Victorians.
The Director of Housing has a number of commercial approaches available for delivering new and redeveloped public housing. This includes renovations, purchasing ready-built dwellings, direct delivery/construction, development agreements and other partnership models which do not include sale of government land.
A Request for Proposal for the Bangs Street, Prahran site has been released to shortlisted tenderers.
A separate tender is underway for a demolition contractor to demolish the existing buildings on the site. Once the contractor is engaged the demolition will commence as soon as possible and is anticipated to be completed by mid-2020.
Before demolition, officers from the Department of Health and Human Services are patrolling the Bangs Street site on a daily basis to try to deter anti-social behaviour and are regularly removing dumped rubbish.
Martin Foley MP
Acting Minister for Housing
