A PLANNING tribunal expects to hear arguments on controversial advertising billboards for Bendigo and Kangaroo Flat later this year.
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That includes a "garish" Mitchell Street proposal that one councillor has previously dismissed as something better suited to Las Vegas than Bendigo.
'We are proud of the quality of our public realm. Indeed, we are famous for it," Cr Jen Alden said last December when she and her elected colleagues knocked the bid back.
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has scheduled hearings on that sign for July, with more in August for a similar bid at the corner of High Street and Lockwood Road, Kangaroo Flat.
Its decisions could shape the City of Greater Bendigo's streetscapes for decades and pits the council against digital signage technology rarely seen on Bendigo streets but increasingly common elsewhere.
The permanent billboards would change advertisements every 30 seconds or so and target passing motorists and pedestrians.
The council knocked back both proposals months after losing a similar VCAT case over a billboard proposed for the corner of Mitchell and Wills Street, Bendigo.
The decision triggered intense debate within the council amid fears it may have created a precedent.
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VCAT's decisions are often heavily influenced by the specific sites where signs are proposed, including Will Street's.
"I do not find that the sign, by virtue of its size, siting or illumination will create a dominant visual element in this streetscape or unreasonably affect the character of the area," VCAT member Kerrie Birtwistle ruled in that case.
The Wills Street decision is one of two made in appeals against council decisions since 2018.
The council won a push against a sign similar to the proposed for Kangaroo Flat in 2018.
In that case, an advertising company had proposed an LED style sign across the road from the site VCAT will hear arguments over this August.
The sign would have sat on top of a 10 metre high pole at the corner of High and Camp Street and have the "potential" for changing images, according to VCAT documents.
The tribunal ruled that the sign would have become a "dominant element" amid what were generally low scale, single storey buildings in the area, and obscure views of two important nearby heritage buildings.
"It will sit significantly higher than most form in the surrounding area, and whilst this is an obvious intention of such signs, I am not persuaded that it will be an acceptable response to this context," VCAT member Joel Templar said at the time.
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