Tate Papworth
Planning and development is booming in Brimbank.
In April, the council received 63 new planning permit applications with a development value of $65.9 million, double the $32.1 million in applications received in the same month last year.
The council also made 96 planning determinations and 22 subdivision determinations in April.
Cr Bruce Lancashire said it was a terrific outcome for Brimbank.
“It gives me great confidence for the future in that a pipeline of work in Brimbank has doubled,” Cr Lancashire said.
“This is an amazing result given the circumstances … I wonder how we compare to other local government areas?”
However some councillors had concerns.
Cr John Hedditch shared Cr Lancashire’s sentiment but said the volume of the building could cause problems.
“For another month … the Harvester ward continues to have a really high number of planning applications going through the system,” Cr Hedditch said.
“The impact of that on a ward that doesn’t have a lot of parks, doesn’t have a lot of sporting facilities, doesn’t have a lot of general community infrastructure, is enormous and over time the cumulative effect of that creates great pressures from within.
“I also ask councillors to think really deeply about the impacts of each of these different approvals going through and what it does to the livability and strains on those particular suburbs.”
Three planning appeals were determined by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) in April.
One appeal against a decision to refuse to grant a planning permit for the construction of eight triple storey dwellings was partially successful, with VCAT ordering that a planning permit be issued for the construction of seven triple storey dwellings at 7 West Esplanade, St Albans.
The other two appeals against conditions on planning permits for the subdivision and development of land were withdrawn after agreements were reached between the parties to resolve the matters.
At the end of April 2020, there were 19 appeals lodged at VCAT that had not yet been determined, one more than at the end of April 2019.
