VCAT finally decides on Point Grey, as boat ramp discussions continue

OBJECTORS to the Lorne Beacon building design have been vindicated, with the state planning tribunal siding with their concerns about a since-abandoned Point Grey plan.

Planning authorities are also reconsidering traffic management at the precinct in response to concerns raised by Lorne boaters, who are confident new plans will provide safer and more convenient access to the precinct’s boat ramp.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) handed down its final decision this month, almost a year since week-long hearings on the matter in April last year.

The tribunal ruled that a host of flaws with the old plan made it impractical to receive a planning permit, overturning a decision by Surf Coast Shire council to approve works in June 2020.

The late Lawrence Baker led the legal action on behalf of community groups, citing inconsistencies with council planning schemes and coastal land use, perceived overdevelopment and loss of cultural, heritage and scenic values.

VCAT presiding member Judith Perlstein found that the previously proposed restaurant’s scale and context and incompatibility with proposed public land uses meant it should not receive approval.

“I find that use of the land for a restaurant is prohibited because it is not associated with the public land use,” member Perlstein said in her decision.

“However, even if I have erred in this conclusion and a permit is required, I consider that a permit should not be granted for use of the land as a restaurant.”

Initial designs released in 2018 proposed the divisive Beacon building and restaurant in place of the former Lorne Fishermen’s Co-Op and were trashed by locals. The Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (GORCAPA) revisited the redevelopment ahead of the VCAT decision.

New site plans in February scrapped the controversial design and committed to repurposing original elements of the Co-Op in a new building of similar scale, to widespread local approval.

GORCAPA is continuing to refine its permit application for the development before resubmitting it for a new planning assessment.

Among the issues to finalise are concerns with traffic flows related to the Point Grey boat wash and boat ramp, which the Lorne Aquatic and Angling Club (LAAC) raised during the VCAT hearing in a two-pronged community objection to original plans.

Previous traffic plans would have required boats to be moved on a trailer from the Point Grey boat ramp to the Great Ocean Road before users could access washing facilities at the other side of the precinct – an arrangement Member Perlstein described as “unsafe and inefficient”.

The club said it had met with GORCAPA and the project’s proposed builder about the plans earlier this month, when parties indicated a preference to keep the boat wash at its current location; south of the LAAC clubrooms, which are set for redevelopment as part of the Point Grey plans.

Other issues around parking and general traffic flow are due to be finalised at a later meeting.

GORCAPA remains committed to starting construction of the $10 million redevelopment by the end of this year.