Objectors ask state to step in on Newcombe Street

PORTARLINGTON Community Association (PCA) is asking the state government to again intervene in a planning process for a multi-storey building on the bay side of the town’s main street.

The mixed-use plan at 49 Newcombe Street is under deliberation at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) for decision on its approval.

It’s the second time the site has been subject to a VCAT hearing, with a planning permit application first lodged in 2019.

Then-state planning minister Richard Wynne called in the previous application for consideration by a planning committee, which rejected it in late 2021.

PCA members have called on incumbent Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny to do the same for the present proposal.

Developers last year returned with plans to build a four-storey building with 10 apartments and two retail spaces at 49 Newcombe Street, next to the town’s former post office.

Proponents argue their plan would reinvigorate a tired but prominent site on Portarlington’s streetscape and help cater for continued residential and commercial growth.

PCA has led community opposition to the proposal that it says is an inappropriate scale for one of the rare properties on the foreshore side of the street.

The association has campaigned for the site to be returned to open space and create a public park linking Newcombe Street to Portarlington Pier.

PCA planning committee chair David Hughes said the organisation again called for special consideration for the proposal.

“[PCA] feels that the VCAT Proceeding needs to be called in and referred to an advisory committee for advice and the Governor in Council for determination.”

PCA said it had strengthened its view during an awareness campaign that included letterboxing local households.

“The PCA has consulted broadly with the community and has established a clear preference for the site to be returned to the open public park it used to be,” PCA’s Newcombe Street sub-committee secretary Dr Anne Whisken said.

The City of Greater Geelong is in PCA’s corner against the development, after its planning panel ruled it was out of character with its surrounds and voted to argue against it at the tribunal.

Developers said their consultation on the proposal late last year had found increased support among residents due to its reduced scale.

The original plan in 2019 had included 16 apartments and five storeys, which was reduced to 11 apartments and four storeys before the minister called it in.

The 2021 state planning committee found the earlier proposal failed to “provide a satisfactory urban design response including a positive contribution to the coastal character of the area, be reflective of local context and protect significant views.