A COUNCIL's decision to block the transformation of land to help people with disabilities has been overturned on appeal.
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The Macedon Ranges Shire had refused to allow a group to transform four hectares of land at Deep Lead Lane, near Kyneton, into a place where people with special needs and their families could seek refuge, relax and learn.
Planning umpire the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has now overturned that decision.
The decision will allow project-backers to cater the property to a wide variety of people including those with intellectual disabilities, Autism, Down Syndrome or post-traumatic stress injuries, among other conditions.
They will be able to construct a building with rooms for activities as well as a kitchen, office space and toilets.
Project-backers can also build a storage shed and set aside areas for service dogs, sensory gardens, orchards, vegetable gardens, a woodland area and a maze.
The shire denied the group's request because it would have taken away farm land in an area zoned for agricultural uses.
The shire had also told the tribunal it was concerned about potential amenity issues at nearby properties.
Planning tribunal unconvinced by council position
Neither argument convinced tribunal senior member Laurie Hewet.
"In this case the proposal does not lead to any significant loss of productive agricultural land and it does not adversely affect the operation of productive agricultural land in the area more generally," he said.
"While the proposal is for a non-agricultural use, its limited impacts are to be balanced against the benefit to the community associated with the establishment of the use.
"On balance, I am satisfied the proposal is acceptable."
Mr Hewet did not think there would be any unacceptable amenity issues for people living nearby, given the "generally benign nature of the use, the limited hours of operation and the management regime intended to limit numbers accessing the site at any one time."
In another win for project-backers, the tribunal decided to save them tens of thousands of dollars they might otherwise have had to set aside for roadworks.
No need to pay for road to be widened, VCAT says
The shire had wanted them to pay for part of Deep Lead Lane to be widened over concerns about the number of cars and buses going in and out of the property.
The project-backers had been willing to pay and had thought they had reached a $20,000 contribution deal with the council.
Not so, the shire told the tribunal. It had not signed any formal agreement and said the $20,000 estimate was based on outdated costings.
Mr Hewet decided it was best to ditch any requirements around project-backers paying for road upgrades.
"It is appropriate that a permit applicant has a clear understanding of the scale and cost of the works sought to be implemented," he said.
Mr Hewet believed the extra traffic on the road would be "inconsequential in traffic engineering terms".
He did not want to force project-backers to be the only people paying for upgrades in the area when nearby landowners would benefit from it.
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Tom O'Callaghan
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
