VCAT has knocked back plans for a four-story development on Portarlington’s waterfront, finding it to be a repeat appeal on a previously rejected plans.
Proponents of the mixed commercial and residential application at 49 Newcombe street were advised to amend their plans after they were first rejected in 2021.
A second application was later rejected by Geelong Council in May this year, with councillors noting it did not protect and enhance “the valued attributes of the area”, did not meet positive architectural thresholds and would be visually obtrusive from the Portarlington public foreshore.
VCAT was scathing of the proponents in their latest findings for refusal, noting applicants had failed to address shortcomings identified by an Advisory Committee that undertook “a comprehensive assessment of the previous proposal.”
“In our opinion, the Advisory Committee envisaged a complete re-design to reduce the visual impact of the building’s mass,” the VCAT panel concluded.
“What has occurred are some small alterations to the same mass.”
Proponents had planned to build 10 apartment dwellings, two retail spaces, subdivide, and reduce a car parking requirement.
However VCAT say the applicants failed to adequately amend their earlier proposal.
“[H]aving inspected the site, we find that this is a repeat appeal and that the fatal flaws in the previous proposal have not been adequately addressed.
“Separately, we find that the building would be visually obtrusive when viewed from the foreshore reserve and that critical aspects of its design are not high-quality.”
Geelong Mayor Trent Sullivan says it exposes problems in the planning system when applicants can resubmit a proposal with little alterations to the originally denied plan.
“The outcome of this shows that we actually have an issue with planning in that essentially the same application can be rejected, rejigged slightly, and applied again,” he said.
“We need to have some thought, some sitdowns, some meetings to come together and say how can we stop essentially the same planning application coming forward time and time again, wasting time from the community, council resources and VCAT.”
