Surf Coast soar point

MORE than 100 objections have been lodged against a controversial Surf Coast Shire project that could allow developments of up to five storeys high in the heart of Torquay.

The draft Torquay Town Centre Project and Urban Design Framework received 158 submissions while on public exhibition, 130 of which object to the proposed height restriction increases.

The draft includes a clause allowing developments of five storeys in Gilbert St “where impacts on view lines can be minimised”.

One of the objectors was Gilbert St business owner Miyo Fallshaw, who said her business Oishi-m would be looking for a new home if the five-storey limit was approved.

“Where we exist, we’d be flattened, kicked out and we’d have to start over,” she told a submissions hearing at Surf Coast Shire offices on Tuesday night.

“It’s really unnerving for us business owners, staff and customers, the uncertainty as to where our business will be as the transition takes place.

“Visitors and residents live here to escape the highrises of cities. If you want to live among high-rises and buildings along the beach, there are plenty of options in Geelong and Melbourne.”

Concerned local property owner Alan Wilkins summed up what seemed to be the consensus of people objecting to the plan.

“Locals love Torquay but don’t want this proposal. It would destroy our town,” he told the hearing.

The 3228 Residents Association is petitioning the council to mandate a maximum height of three storeys within the town centre. The petition already has 260 online signatures.

More 20 members of the community addressed the council on Tuesday night.

Other concerns raised by those speakers included: THE proposed development of Gilbert St and its impact on local traders; OVERDEVELOPMENT destroying the “coastal identity” of Torquay; and, PLANNED apartment developments.

New Mayor David Bell said he would be working hard to “bed down” the town plans. “With what we’ve learned from this planning process, that plan on the table is not the final plan, it will be modified,” Cr Bell said. “As with all these things, we hammer them around and they often come out in a slightly different shape.”

The draft documents can be viewed online at surf coastconversations.com.au