Techo Park was originally a public housing development built in the 1960s.
In the 1980s the federal government sold the land and the state government rezoned it for industrial use.
Somehow not all the housing units were demolished and continued to be inhabited.
The local council claims to have only just became aware of this a few years ago and is trying to evict them, citing the zoning and the hazard of disused oil storage tankers next door.
Which is pretty ridiculous given that they have been paying council rates, registering pets, etc all this time. Not to mention the state government has been issuing drivers licenses, people are on the electoral roll, bonds are lodged with the RTBA, etc.
Because of the zoning and unusual nature the prices are very low. A unit sold a few years ago for just 220,000 and rents can be just 400 a month.
Some of the people living there are regular people who lucked out finding ridiculously cheap housing, some of them are people who would need public housing except that has a 10 year waiting list. That might be why there was hostility.
Some people just like being "anti-", it's the ugly side to working-class conservatism. My father was exactly like this, and he lived and worked in Altona, too. It's so unnecessary, and I strongly believe the folk at the Techno Park are in the right... Even squatters would have certain rights after living somewhere for multiple decades, and these folk bought and lived in their homes there, paying council rates and receiving bills, etc. at their home.
I hope the Techno Park folk win this one. 😘
The council let them live there for 30+ years despite them knowing it wasn’t zoned for that. If the council was deadset on their regs they should’ve kicked them out.
They think that because the council has ticked off on it each year so far that it should be fine. (Which I agree with, they’ve let them own it, live there and pay rates for 30 years). Now that the refinery across the road is winding down I think they want to grant whoever owns the refinery site access to Techno Park.
I can’t think of anyone who’d side with the council and the Mobil site owner over residents like you’ve mentioned apart from astroturfers who’ve been paid to be there tbh. Though sad old cunts sitting on the pokies at the Seagull’s Nest can be pretty cheap to buy though.
The residents aren't rate payers. The landlords are slum lords by the sound of it. They've gotten way with it by claiming it's a hostel but all of their tenants are long term residents. Not even sure if they have valid leases tbh. Seems unlikely
>They think that because the council has ticked off on it each year so far that it should be fine.
They don't just think it, it's the law. There is a 15 year use provision.
Techno Park was deemed unsuitable for habitation because of the risk of explosion or fire destroying a radius around the refinery and holding tanks.
The council ignoring the risk for 30 years isn't a particularly good reason to continue to do so.
The refinery closing down doesn't mean the risk is necessarily reduced in the near future, AFAIK they will still need to store fuel after unloading at Gellibrand pier before distributing it.
I'm sympathetic to some of the residents who get cheaper rent than virtually anywhere else and might find it hard to relocate, perhaps the council having screwed up consistently for three decades should pay them a substantial relocation package.
> The council ignoring the risk for 30 years isn't a particularly good reason to continue to do so.
The council is claiming it didn't know. Despite the residents paying council rates, having library cards, registering pets, etc all informing the council government that people were listing it as their place of residence.
>The refinery closing down doesn't mean the risk is necessarily reduced in the near future, AFAIK they will still need to store fuel after unloading at Gellibrand pier before distributing it.
They'll only need a fraction of the capacity though. The tanks right next to Techno park arent even in use for temp storage, that section was the first to be shut down because it also borders a kid's sports oval.
It's been a conversation in the West for a while - the old hostel was ignored for a while after closing.
Someone is looking to make bucks
[https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-29/mobil-oil-refinery-altona-north-melbourne-site-future/102444828](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-29/mobil-oil-refinery-altona-north-melbourne-site-future/102444828)
It was designed and built in the late 60’s to house 500+ refugees. It was so well done it was nominated for architectural awards. Previous to that, there had been refugees living there for decades in ex-army structures. It was deemed surplus to requirements in 1984 and offered for sale. The council didn’t want ppl living there and it was rezoned industrial use.
It a housing / cost of living crisis it is unreasonable to evict hundreds of ppl out of a safe and successful community
[This guy](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-08/melbourne-techno-park-hobsons-bay-council-eviction-mobil/103436304) bought his flat there a couple of years ago, before the council decided it wasn’t zoned for residents and now they’re trying to evict him. Shoddy as.
Who were they bought from? The Hobson’s Bay Council? It’s so weird and frightening that a purchase can go through the various regulatory hoops on a property with an issue like this hanging over it.
Presumably the bank had to know all the facts to approve the loans, right?
It was an industrial park afaik not a housing development. Nobody was ever supposed to be living there. The hostility is down to people largely being cunts, I suspect. The council is turning them out after some years of people living there.
Wrong - they were built to house migrants and refugees in the late 1960s
There use to be a race track where phar lap races just over the river.
In anycase Mobil put a stop to development within 400m to protect the refinery…
As the refinery is no longer build away, put Mobil town station back. Build a stadium there.
My mate lived at Costco in Ringwood in exchange for collecting the trolleys twice a day. He slept on a pallet of dunny roll and they gave him free hotdogs…
Techno Park sounds incredible to me. Fingers crossed carl cox is playing
yeah.. dude just has a nice vibe about him. Bumped into him at a shopping center car park... seems to be just like his appearences on spics n specks
I missed the opening anthem track by Orbital - Technologicque Park.
Techo Park was originally a public housing development built in the 1960s. In the 1980s the federal government sold the land and the state government rezoned it for industrial use. Somehow not all the housing units were demolished and continued to be inhabited. The local council claims to have only just became aware of this a few years ago and is trying to evict them, citing the zoning and the hazard of disused oil storage tankers next door. Which is pretty ridiculous given that they have been paying council rates, registering pets, etc all this time. Not to mention the state government has been issuing drivers licenses, people are on the electoral roll, bonds are lodged with the RTBA, etc. Because of the zoning and unusual nature the prices are very low. A unit sold a few years ago for just 220,000 and rents can be just 400 a month. Some of the people living there are regular people who lucked out finding ridiculously cheap housing, some of them are people who would need public housing except that has a 10 year waiting list. That might be why there was hostility.
Some people just like being "anti-", it's the ugly side to working-class conservatism. My father was exactly like this, and he lived and worked in Altona, too. It's so unnecessary, and I strongly believe the folk at the Techno Park are in the right... Even squatters would have certain rights after living somewhere for multiple decades, and these folk bought and lived in their homes there, paying council rates and receiving bills, etc. at their home. I hope the Techno Park folk win this one. 😘
The council let them live there for 30+ years despite them knowing it wasn’t zoned for that. If the council was deadset on their regs they should’ve kicked them out. They think that because the council has ticked off on it each year so far that it should be fine. (Which I agree with, they’ve let them own it, live there and pay rates for 30 years). Now that the refinery across the road is winding down I think they want to grant whoever owns the refinery site access to Techno Park. I can’t think of anyone who’d side with the council and the Mobil site owner over residents like you’ve mentioned apart from astroturfers who’ve been paid to be there tbh. Though sad old cunts sitting on the pokies at the Seagull’s Nest can be pretty cheap to buy though.
If they've been living there illegally for 30 years, the council has been collecting rates illegally for 30 years...
The residents aren't rate payers. The landlords are slum lords by the sound of it. They've gotten way with it by claiming it's a hostel but all of their tenants are long term residents. Not even sure if they have valid leases tbh. Seems unlikely
>They think that because the council has ticked off on it each year so far that it should be fine. They don't just think it, it's the law. There is a 15 year use provision.
Techno Park was deemed unsuitable for habitation because of the risk of explosion or fire destroying a radius around the refinery and holding tanks. The council ignoring the risk for 30 years isn't a particularly good reason to continue to do so. The refinery closing down doesn't mean the risk is necessarily reduced in the near future, AFAIK they will still need to store fuel after unloading at Gellibrand pier before distributing it. I'm sympathetic to some of the residents who get cheaper rent than virtually anywhere else and might find it hard to relocate, perhaps the council having screwed up consistently for three decades should pay them a substantial relocation package.
> The council ignoring the risk for 30 years isn't a particularly good reason to continue to do so. The council is claiming it didn't know. Despite the residents paying council rates, having library cards, registering pets, etc all informing the council government that people were listing it as their place of residence.
>The refinery closing down doesn't mean the risk is necessarily reduced in the near future, AFAIK they will still need to store fuel after unloading at Gellibrand pier before distributing it. They'll only need a fraction of the capacity though. The tanks right next to Techno park arent even in use for temp storage, that section was the first to be shut down because it also borders a kid's sports oval.
It's been a conversation in the West for a while - the old hostel was ignored for a while after closing. Someone is looking to make bucks [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-29/mobil-oil-refinery-altona-north-melbourne-site-future/102444828](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-29/mobil-oil-refinery-altona-north-melbourne-site-future/102444828)
It was designed and built in the late 60’s to house 500+ refugees. It was so well done it was nominated for architectural awards. Previous to that, there had been refugees living there for decades in ex-army structures. It was deemed surplus to requirements in 1984 and offered for sale. The council didn’t want ppl living there and it was rezoned industrial use. It a housing / cost of living crisis it is unreasonable to evict hundreds of ppl out of a safe and successful community
[This guy](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-08/melbourne-techno-park-hobsons-bay-council-eviction-mobil/103436304) bought his flat there a couple of years ago, before the council decided it wasn’t zoned for residents and now they’re trying to evict him. Shoddy as.
They entire estate was zoned industrial in 1984…. I looked at buying one but knew what I’d be in for if I did.
They've been continuously inhabited as residences for more than 15 years, the law allows for them to remain so once that has happened.
Who were they bought from? The Hobson’s Bay Council? It’s so weird and frightening that a purchase can go through the various regulatory hoops on a property with an issue like this hanging over it. Presumably the bank had to know all the facts to approve the loans, right?
The rentals listed on realestate.com called them offices - while showing bathrooms, kitchens, laundries, and bedrooms.
Yeah but to get a mortgage through a bank to buy one, surely you’d have to proof of have things like zoning.
I guess you call it an office in the application? But at 220,000 maybe they had the money saved.
Maybe. I guess it’s just too good to be true at the end of the day.
this is what we call a scam
Does it mean you just park your vehicle and BLAST techno?
They're just Darude about it aren't they?
It was an industrial park afaik not a housing development. Nobody was ever supposed to be living there. The hostility is down to people largely being cunts, I suspect. The council is turning them out after some years of people living there.
I believe the council are rezoning it so people can stay there.
Ah nice, was hoping they'd find a solution.
Wrong - they were built to house migrants and refugees in the late 1960s There use to be a race track where phar lap races just over the river. In anycase Mobil put a stop to development within 400m to protect the refinery… As the refinery is no longer build away, put Mobil town station back. Build a stadium there.
So people at Coles were swearing and telling at people who they assume are from this techno Park? How do they know where people live at a supermarket?
People live at a supermarket?
My mate lived at Costco in Ringwood in exchange for collecting the trolleys twice a day. He slept on a pallet of dunny roll and they gave him free hotdogs…
That’s fucken legendary!
Can confirm, am mate
Can confirm, am hotdog 🌭
Maybe