THE CITY of Greater Bendigo spent about $50 to $60,000 more in public funds on planning appeals in 2022 than the year before.
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A higher case load and complex planning conundrums fueled rising costs, but the council says the final bills will not blow to smithereens its typical yearly spend of $200,000-odd.
The confirmation comes as the council deals with the aftermath of two particular cases among 12 the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) ruled on.
Both involved digital billboards in prominent locations that cycle through advertisements every 30 seconds.
Plan forms after VCAT losses
The council opposed their installations despite a 2021 ruling in a similar case the council lost.
Greater Bendigo thought that earlier case would not become a precedent and discounted the tribunal's criticisms of an apparent "sweeping prejudice" against certain advertising signs.
Councillors and their staff can now drive past a very visible reminder of how things turned out on the prominent Mitchell and Queen Street intersection, a few blocks from their offices.
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Company Regional Billboards Co has installed a digital sign there with VCAT's consent.
The same company won permission to install a billboard over a busy intersection in Kangaroo Flat, at the corner of High Street and Lockwood Road.
Statutory planners are considering ways to clarify the rules in light of all three adverse findings.
One solution could be to include new wording in a long planned, wide ranging review of rules for the city centre, Greater Bendigo's statutory planning manager Ross Douglas said.
"If you break it down the tribunal was really saying 'we don't necessarily agree with your policy position but, if you do take it, you really ought to have clear words to that effect'," he said.
Not all changes were losses, council says
The council's experiences at VCAT in 2022 were not all bad.
The tribunal may have taken the opposite view on four cases but it agreed outright with five.
In another three cases, the tribunal either agreed with a compromise brokered by both parties or merely changed specific planning permit conditions the council had previously signed off on.
"When VCAT changes conditions slightly, that is not necessarily a loss for us," Mr Douglas said.
Hearings typically include time to discuss alternative options and parties are encouraged to bring ideas to resolve impasses, he said.
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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.
