City of Darebin approves Nightingale 2.0 apartment development despite concerns

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The Nightingale 2.0 apartment project has received approval from the City of Darebin with the development passed by the Council in a close vote.

Located in Fairfield in Melbourne’s north-east, Nightingale 2.0 represents an architect-driven, better-than-standard apartment development designed by Six Degrees Architects. The five-storey project offers 20 apartments including four one-bedroom, 12 two-bedroom and four three-bedroom units. The second Nightingale project is very similar to the first development designed by Breathe Architecture; common aspects include a location adjacent to a railway station; no car parking; and two to three bicycle parks provided for each apartment.

Concerns were raised in the council chambers about the project, leaving the councillors divided during the vote, and resulting in the mayor, Vince Fontana casting the deciding vote in favour of the development. Some of the councillors were apprehensive about approving a project with no car parking.

The City of Darebin’s planning officers’ report referenced a number of decisions made by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) where a waiver of parking requirements was granted. Councillor Trent McCarthy explained that the Nightingale 2.0 proposal met all the criteria for transit-oriented development. Recalling that the Council had previously granted waivers on several sites based on the commercial or residential opportunities presented by the projects, he added that the Nightingale 2.0 development was one of the few occasions where he was actually comfortable with what was proposed.

Image: The proposed Nightingale 2.0 apartment development in Fairfield designed by Six Degrees Architects. Image: Six Degrees Architects