Lisa Dennis
A contractor’s depot will be built on farming land at Muckleford after gaining approval at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
The VCAT decision has overturned a refusal by Mount Alexander Shire Council to grant a permit to applicant Slingo Earthmoving Castlemaine.
The application for land at 315 Butchers Road, Muckleford, was knocked back by council a second time in December 2021 amid safety concerns.
A permit for the depot, which will see heavy earthmoving vehicles turn off the increasingly busy Maldon-Castlemaine Road near the top of a hillside crest, had initially been rejected by the council in October 2021 amid road safety concerns.
However, that decision had been rescinded at the council’s November 2021 meeting after additional information relating to traffic safety provisions had come to light.
When it went back before the council in December 2021, Cr Gary McClure spoke strongly in favour of granting approval.
“I’m satisfied at this point that all of the traffic management issues have been addressed,” Cr McClure told the meeting.
But councillors Stephen Gardner and Matthew Driscoll were among those who remained opposed due to strongly held concerns about the potential impacts on traffic safety on Maldon-Castlemaine Road.
The application ultimately failed 4:3 with Crs Driscoll, Gardner, Maltby and Annear voting against and Crs Cordy, McClure and Henderson in favour.
In the VCAT decision handed down on January 6, VCAT member Michael Deidun overturned the council’s decision and granted a permit for use of the land for a contractor’s depot; to construct a building and construct or carry out works; alter access to a road in a Transport Zone 2; and removal of vegetation, including native vegetation. The permit is subject to 65 conditions.
Mr Deidun said the traffic associated with the proposed use and development was capable of being integrated with the surrounding road network in a safe manner.
“The sightlines that are available along Castlemaine-Maldon Road from the intersection with Butchers Road is an existing constraint. That is, this is not a proposal to create a new intersection, or a new access point. Trucks associated with the surrounding agricultural land uses currently use this intersection, with no history of crashes at this intersection,” he said.
“The proposed use and development will result in improvements to this intersection that will comprise a widening of Butchers Road to enable trucks to enter and exit this road simultaneously. This is an improvement that will benefit existing road users, as well as the traffic generated from the proposed use and development,” Mr Deidun stated.
The VCAT member said the assessment of sightlines at this intersection would not stop at this decision of the tribunal.
“Rather, the conditions of a permit will require a Road Safety Audit, which will be required to be reviewed and approved by the Department of Transport. Ultimately, it is the decision of the road safety experts at the Department of Transport, after the receipt of a Road Safety Audit, as to whether to accept the proposed sight distances. If they are not satisfied, then options remain to lower the speed along this section of Castlemaine-Maldon Road, or require other improvements to be made to this road environment.”
