Taplin Street, Fitzroy North, VIC 3068

I laughed reading one of the below reviews. I don't know when it was written but it's not like that here at the monent (2018). I have lived (rented) at two separate town houses on this street. It's a quiet street and convenient to everything you need leasiure-wise. A lot of people own pets on this street (including myself) and it's a great place for this with the vet around the corner. The big black dog mentioned previously is friendly when he gets to know you, and he doesn't roam the street anymore anyway. The peeps on the north end look out for each other and it feels generally safe. There seems to be no share houses at this time and not really any loud parties anymore. There are mostly working professionals and families with kids now. The mechanic is very approachable and keeps an eye out during the day which is nice to have around (he might even let you have your parcels delivered there if you're lucky!). The only draw back of this street is the petty crime. With close proximity to the TAB there seems to be opportunistic smash and grabs on cars, and occasionally dodgy types cruising past. We had an attempted burglary while we were home on a Friday night (took a crow bar to the front door!!!), so be warned. Don't be slack about your security. There was also a serial balcony trespasser in 2016 /17 on the north end but I believe they were targeting someone in particular. The police did nothing about this might I add, which made the residents up this end a bit more close knit. I agree about the cleanliness too, there always seems to be debris and rubbish around on the footpaths. Overall I really enjoy living here, and hope I can continue to do so for many years to come! I'm actually looking forward to the Piedimonte's supermarket redevelopment too. What some people deem 'quaint' I call an uncleanly, expensive hole of a supermarket.. But we don't get into that :) PS avoid the post office where possible... You gave been warned (check out their google reviews for a laugh).

Yarra City Council really should be taken to task on the urban amenity of this street starting with a review of the bin collection points (ie. not from Taplin St but from rear laneways and Best St) to clear the footpaths for pedestrians. Yes I too have no faith in their town planning ability but this hasnt deterred from enjoying living here!
Taplin St is a friendly place (yes even the happy black dog and the mechanic can be good neighbours) and close to over 4 different playgrounds, the Linear Park bike track which forms part of the Capital City Trail, Brunswick St tram, Dench Bakery and Pediemonte's Supermarket.
The Best St rear fences do back onto Taplin St, and this has actually proven to be a good security measure (neighbours checking whats going in Taplin St). Havent hear the huge parties at the north end of the street but take your word for it. The more owner occupiers the better to review this together. Aside from the above, there are within a 2-3 minute walk of Taplin St.. a newsagent, local library, video store, 11 cafes of varying styles, chemist, two bakeries, hardware store, wine merchant, vet, 2 local pubs, fruit and veg store, a medical GP centre, four gift stores, organic produce shop, toy shop, 2 gyms, two dress shops, kindergarten, real estate agent, dry cleaners/laundromat, Flexicar spot and post office. Its hard to look past this location ( seriouslywho needs a car when you can walk/ tram/ train it?)

Taplin Street isn't an attractive street for a kick off, there's little greenery and the street is lined with cars left there by commuters and the neighbouring mechanics. The street has several blocks of townhouses and the rest of the streetscape is made up of back fences. Nearly every house from Best Street backs on to Taplin, this is both unattractive and a compromise to security (neighbours can't look out for you). The existing warehouses are apparently going to be redeveloped in to new units, which is good in my opinion.

Noise can be an issue with the nearby Pinnacle hotel playing live music that resonates up the street. The adjacent BP fuel station can get busy at times too and the occasional unexpected house party in neigbouring houses is a nuisance. The trams can be heard but that's the trade off for being highly convenient.

Yarra Council should impose stricter parking restrictions along here to stop people leaving their little old cars parked badly along the street. They also need to plant some more trees to hide the eyesore of the back fences, and greenery should also help reduce the resonating noises.

The other issue with the street is the cleanliness. Often rubbish is left on the pavement and the mechanics workshop always has oil and other contaminants pouring into the gutter. The councils rubbish collection service leaves bins strewn all over the street paying no attention to where they picked them up. This means when you go to get your bin it's often 50 metres up the street.

But it's not all bad.

On the upside, Taplin Street is located close to the hub of the vibrant North Fitzroy village which has a plethora of retail shops and cafes to explore. Piedemonte's is just a 2 minute walk from your front door and the 112 tram is even closer.

All in all, Taplin Street is convenient street to live in. It's close to everything and it's only going to improve over years to come. However if your looking for a street that impresses, then I say look elsewhere.

Depending on your position, the acoustics can be extremely poor in Taplin Street as any sound tends to reverberate against apartment facades, causing an 'amplification' effect. The poor acoustics are largely caused by building facades being in uncomfortable proximity to one-another. (the result of very poor town planning) For some, this can be annoying, particularity at night. Noise can be at it's most annoying when some of the younger residents (who have taken up leases within the ugly drab building at the north end) decide to party and booze up at all hours of the night and morning on their balconies, sometimes seemingly without limits. Urinating (contests) from upper level third story balconies on to the footpath below seem to be a popular pastime for some. Quelle horreur! One of the most notable issues with some of the leased apartments is that once the occupants move in, so do hoards of their friends. This can mean that you might have a situation where one apartment has many of occupants living in it. In turn there have been situations where one of these households has as many as four cars parked on the street at one time.

There is a small business in Taplin Street which must have had have been granted special dispensation by City Of Yarra when it initially applied for it's planning permit. I say this (facetiously ) as this particular business carries on as if the (public) street space is it's own private work area, dispatch and pickup point. There are usually vehicles parked all over the street because of this one particular business and on many occasions these vehicles are parked across private access areas and driveways. The revving of car engines can sometimes be heard and the spilling of noxious substances onto the street and gutter, as well as the comings and goings of large trucks which park up to 20mins at a time (engines idling) and usually in the middle of the street (in order to service this particular business) are just another every day aspect of living in Taplin Street.

At this current time, there are a couple of new proposals for high density residential developments in Taplin Street. One of the developments (already approved) is for a four level tower housing six apartments, with the upper most level serving as a penthouse for the owner (application PL07/0213). The second, is a current application before the City Of Yarra for ten apartments (with little no car parking) as I understand. The site for the second proposal is at the former 'Spice' warehouse at 44 Taplin street. It would appear that all the remaining buildings are destined for the same fate. If the current trend, being the increase in density allowance and decrease in carpark allocation continues, Taplin Street will see a sharp increase in resident numbers, noise and car parking demand. The car parking situation in Taplin Street has been dire for a few years now and seems to be worsening. Competition for parking between residents, visitors from outer suburbs to the area as well local businesses have always created high parking demand on the weekdays. New apartments without adequate parking provision will only complicate the situation.

Oh, I nearly forgot. There is one resident who keeps a large dog in an apartment (without a backyard ) and so who has for years found it necessary to create a nuisance by releasing her big black dog (and cat(s) out onto the street to roam . Sometimes this occurs in the early hours of the morning and sometimes in the evening or late night. It quite a largish dog and has developed a propensity for charging at frightened passers by, startling them and menacing them with a very an extremely loud bark and growls. This dog tends to use the nearby park (on Park Street) as it's toilet. Taplin Street itself is often riddled with dog and cat feaces.

All could be improved if only the City Of Yarra would pull it's finger out and do it's job as they have been next to useless in the past.

Anyone inspecting a home with a view to buying into the area, would immediately realise that although the street is in a quiet pocket (in the sense that it's not on a busy main road like St Georges Rd) it is obviously not a leafy street consisting of conventional homes. Most residents I was acquainted with in Taplin Street however seem immune to all of this . I guess unlike me, they bought into the street after I did and accept their environment.


On the plus side the convenience of the location is and it's proximity to bike tracks great.