Crowdfunded legal challenge to Parade apartment block

OCEAN Grove residents are crowdsourcing funding for an impending legal challenge against a $10-million apartment building in a suburban street.

Developers want to build a three-storey, 17-apartment complex across two housing blocks at 57-59 The Parade, Ocean Grove, less than a block away from the town’s main shopping centre.

The City of Greater Geelong’s planning register indicated an application for the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to rule on the case was lodged in November last year, before the city had decided on the project.

Developers have since tweaked plans.

COGG is due to consider the project at a planning committee meeting on Thursday (March 30) – but both parties are preapring to proceed with the planning tribunal regardless.

Ocean Grove Community Association (OGCA) is among the local bodies protesting the development; citing neighbourhood character impacts, increased traffic and overshadowing concerns as its main concerns.

OGCA says it also fears approval of the project would set a precedent for the scale of future development in the town and are skeptical of claims the project will improve housing stock, amid concern the units would primarily become short-stay accommodation properties.

“To our knowledge, this is the first planning application for a very large multi-storey building in Ocean Grove across two separate lots,” a statement from OGCA chair Andy McKoy read.

“Approval of this application sets a bad precedent that will permanently degrade the character of Ocean Grove.”

In its application advertised by the city in August last year, planners User Experience Design Group said the project would fit in with an “eclectic mix” of housing forms becoming increasingly prevalent in the Bellarine town.

“Over the past decade, more contemporary and coastal forms are emerging and beginning to set the architectural precedent of Ocean Grove,” the report stated.

“The Parade and subject site provide a great opportunity to provide further housing to an established burrow of Ocean Grove that has direct connection to Ocean Grove Village and all the amenities it has to offer.”

The application also argued that the building was aligned with local town planning policies aimed at enabling residential growth within the town.

“The building will strongly contribute to a greater coastal village through the adaptation of biophilic design, articulated built form and the combination of both recessive and suspended elements to reduce visual bulk.”

The proposal is within the Ocean Grove Increased Housing Diversity Area, which COGG has identified as suitable for higher density development.

OGCA has indicated VCAT proceedings are due to begin late next month.