Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
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A warning for buyers
Plans have been refused for a house on farmland in Bolinda and comes with a warning for prospective property buyers. Applicants sought to build a house on 5.7 hectares at Weatherly Road to support an existing hay cropping business. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal upheld Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s earlier rejection of the plans.…
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‘No uniform existing character in Gisborne’
The applicant behind a development plan for Gisborne’s Ross Watt Road has been asked to resubmit a revised version to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. After seven hearing days, VCAT senior member Geoffrey Code found the plan was generally consistent with expectations in the planning scheme. He found it provided an appropriate framework in…
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Lifestyle village rejected
Amy HumeMacedon Ranges Shire Council has rejected a large-scale residential lifestyle village planned for Kyneton but the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal will have the final say. Last week councillors weighed up local demand for seniors’ affordable housing against the appropriateness of the Edgecombe Road site. VivaLife’s proposal would develop 12 hectares of rural living…
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Depot gets green light
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…
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Housing green light for Riddell
A hotly debated 10-unit development for Riddells Creek got a green light at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal last week. Plans for the 4551sqm site at 4 Richardson Street had been disputed for overdevelopment and inconsistency with neighbourhood character. The proposal had council officer approval but community dissent sparked an online campaign and 17…
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Tourism-draw questioned
A multi-million dollar redevelopment of ‘The Old Factory’ in Woodend has been rejected at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Impact on the town’s commercial core, question of genuine tourism draw and the need to maintain industrial areas were key factors in the decision. Branded a tourist destination, the original plan included a 40-stall market,…
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Supermarket case adjourned
The 10-day Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal hearing into the development of the proposed Woolworths supermarket in Castlemaine recently wound to a close. The matter has been adjourned and will resume on July 4, 2022. Local advocacy group Size Matters spokesperson, Kaye Swanton, said the tribunal had allowed five days for this additional sitting week.…
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Council error to VCAT
“Extension by stealth” is how some objectors have described changed operating conditions for Holgates Brewhouse’s discovery centre and beer gardens. Macedon Ranges Shire Council has admitted to lifting two planning conditions that controlled operating hours and alcohol consumption at the Woodend venue, without community consultation. When in place, the conditions restricted visitor centre and garden…
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Castlemaine supermarket plan heads to VCAT
A controversial planning permit application for a proposed Woolworths supermarket in Castlemaine’s Forest Street is headed to VCAT with a mediation session set for next month to be followed by a hearing in November. Lascorp Development Group, developers proposing plans for the site, lodged the application on April 1 citing failure by Mount Alexander Shire…
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Kyneton South subdivision to VCAT
Residents of Kyneton South have won the support of the local council in their fight against an 87-lot subdivision for Harpers Lane but the decision will ultimately fall to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The developer has taken the matter to VCAT after council failed to decide on the application within the prescribed time,…
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FARM DECISION OVERTHROWN
Macedon Ranges Council’s decision to refuse farmland development for a small-scale farm venture at Woodend North has been overthrown by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The proposal sought to build a house and large shed on 6.2 hectares at 130 Russells Lane to support a speckle park cattle breeding pursuit with about 10 cows.…
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Farmers win in land battle
A fourth generation Springfield farming family has taken on the state government in a David and Goliath battle over land, and won. Backed by Macedon Ranges Shire Council, the Clement family succeeded at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in preventing fragmentation of farmland at 75 Clements Road, Springfield. The family donated the land as…