A Malmsbury cattle farmer has been denied a permit to continue living in his shed turned ‘man-cave’.
Travis Bruni was seeking to legitimise the new home on his 22.7ha property to farm an Angus and Hereford breeding herd.
Macedon Ranges Shire councillors heard the shed, at Youngs Road, evolved into an illegitimate residence over about 18 months.
Recommending refusal, council officers warned councillors against fragmentation of agricultural land without justification for a permanent dwelling on site. The application also attracted two objections.
Councillor Anne Moore said approval was problematic, unwarranted and could encourage similar applications elsewhere.
“The application is asking the council to close its eyes and mind to a long-running unlawful use of the land, and its legal and moral obligations,” she said.
“It’s a shed, built to shed standards, and it will always be a shed no matter how it’s dressed up to look like a house… If we’re going to go with this – how many others will get a shed permit and ask us to turn it into a permit for a dwelling?
“This problematic structure, if approved, can also be sold; handing the problem over to someone else.”
The land with the shed in question was expected to be consolidated with two other lots as part of a larger farm enterprise. Mr Bruni manages another 400 acres in the vicinity.
The farm has about 60 cows and 60 weaned calves in autumn and spring calving, with capacity for 300 cattle.
Agriculture Victoria commented a manager’s residence supporting this farming operation and succession planning might be justified, however, it noted that the house on the adjoining property (owned by the parents) was leased out.
“This undermines the assertion that the dwelling is required when an existing dwelling could be made available for the stated purpose,” they said.
Cr Mark Ridgeway said it was not the council’s position to discuss Mr Bruni’s personal and family arrangements and sought support for the living arrangement with tight conditions on land use.
Sympathetic to Mr Bruni’s case, he argued the 40ha Farm Zone build restriction was designed to protect farmers and farmland.
“An applicant must demonstrate that they are a genuine farmer, planning to use the land for farming purposes to justify a planning permit,” he said.
“In this case we have a young farmer who is demonstrably creating an expanding farming enterprise…his farm plan isn’t just a wish-list for what might be: it is actually what he is doing now.”
Cr Ridgeway’s motion won the support of Crs Bill West and Geoff Neil but was lost 6-3. A division recorded the same three councillors opposed to the officer’s recommendation for refusal.
