VCAT rejects revised plans for Port Arlington development

THE Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has upheld the City of Greater Geelong’s decision to deny a permit for the construction of a mixed-use building at 49 Newcombe Street, Portarlington.

Previously, 49 Newcombe Street Pty Ltd had sought approval from the city for a three- to four-storey building in Portarlington. However, the Victorian Planning Minister rejected the proposal following a review by an independent advisory committee.

Subsequently, the developer modified the design and reapplied for a permit. The council, Portarlington Community Association, and individual Vesna Grant opposed the new application.

VCAT members Michael Nelthorpe and Ann Keddie recently rejected the developer’s new application for a permit, stating that “the fatal flaws in the previous proposal have not been adequately addressed”.

Mr Nelthorpe Ms Keddie said that in their view, the Advisory Committee “envisaged a complete re-design to reduce the visual impact of the building’s mass. What has occurred are small alterations to the same mass. This is a fatal flaw in the applicant’s approach and one that cannot be overstated”.

VCAT found the redesign did not address the concerns of the Advisory Committee about the “visual obtrusiveness of the building, and the inconsistency of its mass with the town’s character.”

49 Newcombe Street Pty Ltd called evidence at the hearing from Simon McPherson, an urban designer of Global South.

Mr McPherson told VCAT that the building was of high quality and was not visually obtrusive in views from the foreshore.

However, Mr Nelthorpe and Ms Keddie said “Mr McPherson’s evidence does not persuade us that the building is visually unobtrusive in views from the foreshore” and the location of the site was unique, which meant policies that sought to protect views from the foreshore carried more weight.

The proposal before VCAT without landscaping. Photo: SUPPLIED