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6.50PM: Councillors vote to sell a council-owned property at 49 Napier Street, Eaglehawk.
6.45PM: Councillors approve the medical practice on Don street.
6.40PM: Discussing a proposed medical practice on Don Street, Cr Metcalf said car parking issues unsurprisingly formed the centre of most residents’ objections.
“The reduction (in car parks from 11 to four) being sought by the applicant is relatively small,” she said.
Cr Pethybridge said it would be good to have a doctor in the area.
“We don’t have to park on the doorstep like we all want to,” he said.
Cr Yvonne Wrigglesworth said: “The lack of parking in Bendigo, and that claim, is becoming a tired statement, especially in this cathedral precinct.”
“Have a look around. We have plenty of parking and the argument that we don’t is wearing a little thin.”
Cr Matt Emond said the possibility of having three extra doctors close to central Bendigo was a great outcome for the area.
6.36PM: Councillors approve the development of a service station in Huntly.
6.35PM: “This plan needs to go back to the drawing board for a more suitable location. If this development was to proceed, residents would like to see it on the outskirts of the town,” Cr Jennifer Alden said.
6.20PM: Discussing residents’ objections to a proposed service station in Huntly, councillor Malcolm Pethybridge said the development would support business in the town.
“This will be good for Huntly and move them into the 21st century,” he said.
“When we go to towns we always ask about the town, not the service station.”
Cr Andrea Metcalf asked whether an acceptable planning outcome is better than a desired planning outcome.
She said the three historical strategies which were developed for Huntly must be taken into consideration in this planning application.
“It’s now increasingly evidence to me that council needs to stop investing money into town plans that have no impact on planning matters or should give them teeth by incorporating them into the planning scheme,” she said.
In a report to councillors, a COGB planner referenced a Huntly structure plan from 2005 and township plan from 2009, one of which suggested a petrol station was required but not in the centre of town, while the other promoted the retention of the bushland character, environmental assets and village setting of Huntly.
The planner said because the plans were both reference documents, which do not form part of the Planning Scheme, “limited weight can be placed on them in assessing this application”.
6PM: Welcome to the live blog of the City of Greater Bendigo council meeting. Councillors will decided on two contentious developments tonight – a petrol station in Huntly and a medical practice in central Bendigo.
Read the full agenda here:
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