Zoe Moffatt
Macedon Ranges council decided it would have refused a permit for development of 10 dwellings at 3 Somerville Lane, Riddells Creek, following a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) appeal.
At a council meeting on July 12, councillors voted that they would have refused the permit for the Somerville Lane development in, which went against the officer’s recommendation.
The development seeks approval for 10 dwellings with total floor areas ranging between 151.7 and 160.5 square metres. The application has been appealed to VCAT.
Cr Rob Guthrie said the proposal was an overdevelopment of the site.
“I asked the planner whether they were prepared to consider a lesser number of units because I felt it was an overdevelopment of the site,” Cr Guthrie said, “His answer was no.”
“I believe the proposal fails to achieve objectives … to respectively respond to its surrounding landscape and neighbourhood character.
“It does not provide adequate housing diversity to cater for the longer term of the Riddells Creek community.”
Cr Guthrie also raised concern with the waste management and said the site has inadequate street frontage for bin collection.
“Macedon Ranges boasts one of the highest diversion rates of waste from landfill in Victoria at 74 per cent,” he said.
“This has been achieved by the introduction of the four bin system … [and] this application would require 40 bins with inadequate street frontage for bin collection and no storage spaces noted.”
Mayor Annette Death agreed and said council would prefer a reduction in the number of units due to waste management.
“We would prefer to see a reduction in the number of units around the issues with waste management in particular,” Cr Death said.
“[Especially with] retaining Macedon Ranges shire as the waste provider for this development.”
Eight objections were received in regards to the application, with the main concerns surrounding neighbourhood character, inappropriate high density, increased traffic, pressure on existing services and infrastructure, and waste management.
