Nikou asked for the “unnecessary” section of Old Heidelberg Road behind the facility – used daily by students moving between buildings – to be removed from the road registry and sold to the owners of the land on which the gymnasium stands.
Standing room only was at Richmond City Hall, where many parents and Alphington Grammar students still watched the events in school uniform.
A number of parents spoke out against the proposal, including James Baker, who asked council members why child safety was not considered “top of the list” in the planning application.
“You considered smoking and you considered bike access… So why not bring in child safety experts and a psychologist to give you all an informed decision on this?”
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Speaking on behalf of Healthe Care, Urbis director Andrea Pagliaro said the facility would have a substantial positive impact on vulnerable community members.
“It is for voluntary inpatients with mild to moderate mental health problems…our report is very clear that it does not cover drug addicted patients, sex offenders or people under community treatment,” he said.
Alderman Bridgid O’Brien added an amendment to the successful proposal to erect a six-foot fence at the care facility near the gymnasium.
While some members shouted in the packed public gallery that their children’s safety had not been properly considered, O’Brien said their concerns had been “discussed at length”.
Councilor Anab Mohamud acknowledged at the meeting that it is a complex issue that has attracted a lot of public interest.
“I want to reiterate that we’re talking about community members — that could be our children, our parents, our loved ones, and these are subacute patients who need services in our community.”
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