Zoe Moffatt
Hume council has been criticised for approving a controversial five-storey apartment building in Sunbury town centre, after an independent report recommended a maximum height of approximately four stories.
The proposed development for 52 O’Shanassy Street was approved by council in December 2022, following 49 objections.
It seeks to build a five-storey apartment building with a basement car park, a cafe or retail premises and offices.
Sunbury resident Peter Gavin attended the compulsory Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) conference on July 12, and said all parties accepted the Blades report, which was commissioned by Hume council.
Mr Gavin said he paid $899 to attend the hearing and said the underlying issue is the lack of transparency from council.
“The officers’ report implied that Blades considered a five-storey proposal appropriate when in fact they recommended a four-storey,” Mr Gavin said.
“This suggests a lack of transparency from Hume council … The commentary on [the development] is misleading to say the least.
“We need to make sure this doesn’t happen again … This has eroded my trust in the council, and I can understand why people want Sunbury out of Hume.”
The Blades report, seen by the Star Weekly, provides nine recommended modifications. The first recommendation is to reduce the building height to a maximum of approximately 15 metres (four storeys).
Mr Gavin said he saw the independent urban design review mentioned in the council officer’s report from December 2022 and requested a copy.
“We read the officer’s report and then after the meeting we thought we better request the independent report,” he said. “It took ages to get the copy out of them.”
He said while he personally thinks four-storeys is still too high, he is happy to accept the recommendations from the independent review.
“Personally I think it is too high but I am happy to use it as a compromise because it is an independent report.
“Now it’s the basis of the compromise, it makes the council look really silly now.”
Mr Gavin said he would have liked to see full transparency of documents before council meetings.
“I would have thought that a thoughtful approach would be full transparency of council documents and then a meeting between the developer and objectors to see where there could be a compromise before any council meeting.
“It’s an appalling decision, scandalous really … you can call it ‘O’Shassay-gate’.”
Hume council chief executive Sheena Frost said council seeks a range of detailed technical advice and the Blades report advice is reflected in the report of officers to council.
“Hume council seeks a range of detailed technical advice – including urban design – to help inform its decisions on planning applications such as that put forward for O’Shannassy Street,” Ms Frost said.
“Officers assess applications against the planning system and external advice is part of that input.
“[Recommendations are] not a static process and there are multiple conversations back and forward with applicants that lead to an eventual recommendation from officers.
“In regards to the decision itself, the four-storey suggestion was put by the objector and accepted by the applicant, therefore was a compromise position between those parties.”
