Heads project green light

A HIGHER density housing project on a main street of Barwon Heads has survived an appeal at the state’s planning tribunal.

Two double-storey houses have been permitted on a single block at 107 Hitchcock Ave, just north of the main shopping precinct.

The development will demolish a modest single-storey brick home and create two new dwellings on a 749sq m site.

The proposal drew one letter of support and 20 objections, with critics concerned with the impact on neighbourhood character, amenity, overdevelopment and drainage.

Following a positive recommendation from its planning department, the Geelong council granted a permit for the application in January.

An appeal to VCAT was lodged by Gregory Kelly and Kathryn Howie a fortnight later.

VCAT member Graeme David supported the council’s view in a decision handed down last week.

“(The project) will contribute to consolidation of residential development, and contribute to the containment of pressure for expansion of Barwon Heads’ town boundaries,” he said.

“The proposal is generally in keeping with other more recent developments permitted in the local area, and will not appear as an anomaly in its local neighbourhood context.”

The site would be part of a new zoning under the proposed Barwon Heads Structure Plan.

An independent panel hearing into the structure plan wrapped up last week. The panel is expected to take between four-to-eight weeks to hand down its report to the council.