Vote on new GP centre

Updated November 7 2012 - 2:24am, first published July 5 2010 - 12:00pm

CITY of Greater Bendigo councillors will decide tomorrow night whether to give the go-ahead to a medical centre in Mollison Street that would house 12 GPs.Councillors will vote on a decision to amend a planning application for the site at 84 Mollison Street, which is part of the Passchendaele Barracks Drill Hall.If it gets the green light the proposal would see a medical centre and pharmacy built to allow for 12 GPs, four Allied Health Professionals, four dentists, one pharmacist and a pathology nurse. The medical centre would be open seven days a week.The report recommends waiving the car-parking requirement because the proposal provides 57 car parks, 24 bike spaces and six motorcycle spaces.“There will be 22 spaces reserved for medical practitioners,’’ the report said.“All other staff will be required to park off-site or travel to the centre by other means of transport. It is accepted that there is likely to be some impact on parking stress in the area.“However, when weigh-ing up the benefits of the proposal against the minor inconvenience of some road users (having) greater difficulty in finding a parking space, it would be very difficult to argue that the proposal should be refused on the basis of under-provision of car parking.“This application, which would result in considerable social and economic benefits to the city as well as providing a well designed building, will contribute to an enhanced streetscape.’’The council received one objection to the application from St Andrew’s Church, which raised concerns over the bulk and scale of the building, the proposed car-parking waiver and the proposed hours of operation.In 2008, a planning permit was given to demolish the drill hall and build a three-storey office.The permit was extended to February this year.

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