Tribunal decision for Phar Lap tree plan

A CONTROVERSIAL bid to subdivide a St Albans Park property with links to horse racing legend Phar Lap will continue at the state’s planning tribunal next year.

Proponents have appealed a City of Greater Geelong council decision from October to reject the proposal at 7-8 Oakwood Ridge to subdivide the property into two blocks for further residential development.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) confirmed last week it had received an application to review the council’s decision, with the matter due to be heard “mid-year”.

A large tree on the property, known as the “Phar Lap tree“, is believed to have been a significant burial site for horses during the area’s use as a racehorse stud before its subdivision in the 1990s.

Objectors to the subdivision successfully applied for state heritage protection for archaeological sites beneath the tree during appeals to the proposal.

The protection does not preclude granting of a planning permit, but would increase risk and oversight of any underground works and excavation associated with the project, such as proposed sewerage.

Neighbours also took exception to an intention to bypass a restrictive covenant intended to protect low-density living that applies to the area, where most blocks are greater than 3,000sqm.

The identity of the landowner – outgoing City of Greater Geelong city services director Guy Wilson-Browne – was a point of contention during deliberations earlier this year, with councilors indicating an independent body was better placed to make a final call on the plan.