Macedon Ranges council has expressed opposition to a planning permit for a service station on the Calder Freeway in Woodend, with the application set to be heard at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
As reported by Star Weekly, two separate planning permit applications for service stations on the Calder Freeway were lodged with Macedon Ranges council, the first being for the western side of the freeway.
According to council, this first application was appealed at VCAT on January 30 due to the council not making a decision on the application within the required 60-day timeframe, which was “due to the outstanding nature of what [Macedon Ranges] views as being key supporting documents required to assess the application, along with formal advice from the Department of Transport and Planning”.
Macedon Ranges published an update on its website expressing its opposition to this permit.
Objections included concerns around impacts to the view of Hanging Rock and Mount Macedon from the Calder Freeway by the proposed building, impacts to agricultural land, concerns around wastewater management within the plan, and the proximity of the site to existing freeway service centres – being less than 50 kilometres from an existing freeway service centre and freeway interchange.
A spokesperson for the developer Welsh Leisure Pty Ltd said the organisation looks forward to “discussing the issues raised with council’s officers or representatives to see if we can resolve some of those issues,” at the VCAT compulsory conference on April 8.
The major case hearings with VCAT will be held over several dates during late June and early July.
