The fight to save region
GEELONG is a rapidly growing city where the property market is booming. But that growth has caused plenty of angst for developers hoping to cash in with major projects and local residents battling to keep inappropriate developments out of their neighbourhoods. These are some of the biggest decisions made at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal this year PAKO TOWERS GET THE GREEN LIGHT
A NOVEMBER VCAT decision approved developer plans to build eight and ninestorey towers on Pakington St, despite a city bid to refuse the hotel development.
The tribunal approved the Gordon Ave Property Trust’s application to build the eight and nine-storey towers on the corner of Pakington St and Gordon Ave.
The developers had submitted amended plans – with reduced tower heights – to VCAT after the City of Greater Geelong in February refused a permit for a pair of 41m-high, 13-storey towers at the site.
The developers last year revealed their high-profile proposal to build the estimated $70m project, featuring two 41m-high towers containing 260 hotel rooms, rooftop terraces, “health hub”, function room spaces and almost 4000sq m of office and hospitality space across the two towers.
DEVELOPER PLAN TO REPLACE ONE HOUSE WITH 13 REJECTED
A GROVEDALE developer’s multimillion-dollar bid to replace one house with 13 units and two developmentready blocks was refused by VCAT.
The tribunal rejected the proposed $2.6m Bailey St development in September, with the owners proposing to bulldoze the 3859sq m property and subdivide the land into 15 lots – with singlestorey units to be built on 13 lots.
The planning umpire had been called to review the application after the City of Greater Geelong failed to make a decision on the proposal within the required time frame, with a Geelong planning committee eventually recommending VCAT refuse the permit, contrary to city officers’ advice to approve the development.
VCAT senior member Laurie Hewet argued “the proposal does not acceptably respect the character of the area and provides poor on-site and internal amenity”.
FIGHTIN’ HIGHTON LOCALS WIN AGAIN
RESIDENTS won a longrunning battle to stop a bid to build 27 townhouses on a large block of Highton land in November.
VCAT refused the Arc Townhomes application to subdivide and develop a 9400sq m site at Morven Court in Highton – known as “Frog Hollow” – where the developer had hoped to build 27 single and double-storey homes.
The plans, first lodged in December last year featuring
33 townhouses, prompted 108 objections to be sent to the City of Greater Geelong, with neighbours voicing “grave concerns” the development of the flood-prone land would worsen flooding in the area.
A group of neighbours then crowdfunded more than $15,000 to hire a town planner to help oppose the development at VCAT, after
the applicant appealed the City of Greater Geelong’s failure to make a decision on the plans within the required time frame.
The VCAT members ultimately sided with the city and neighbours this month, refusing to grant a permit for the development and noting it did not “provide an access network that meets the relevant objectives”. It also failed to “respect and respond to the neighbourhood and landscape character of the area”.
BELLARINE PLAN FOR TOWNHOUSES AXED
A BID to build a dozen townhouses on two plots of Ocean Grove land was thrown out by the state’s planning