Whittlesea council has made a submission to a discussion paper on the future of apartment design in Victoria, hoping it will lead to the elimination of dark, tiny “dog boxes”.
Planning Minister Richard Wynne has released the paper and sought input on how to shape apartment design and address concerns about poorly built complexes.
The submissions will inform a new set of guidelines that it’s hoped will improve internal design, amenity
and functionality of apartments in the state.
In the City of Whittlesea, an increasing number of planning applications are being submitted to the council for apartments in both established and newly developed areas of the city.
The council’s submission, made public last week, is based on four planning applications and their subsequent building, either completed or under construction and which demonstrate a range of apartment building developments.
The discussion paper asked that submissions focus on access to daylight, space, natural ventilation, noise, outdoor space, waste and carparking.
Whittlesea director of planning and major projects Steve O’Brien said in the council submission that it was preferable that secondary spaces such as bathrooms and internal passageways receive daylight to reduce reliance on artificial lighting.
