ANIMAL breeders have struck out for a second time after Greater Bendigo councillors rejected their plans for a facility.
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It comes despite the council largely winning its last battle over the 42 hectares of Derrinal land thanks to an unexpected technicality.
The breeders want to build a home along with facilities for horses and dogs but any hopes they may have done enough to head off another council rejection were dashed on Monday night.
All eight councillors present at the meeting voted against the application, including one who had backed it the last time around.
"I have to say, as this has progressed, it has created more doubt for me," Cr Margaret O'Rourke told the meeting.
"What I feel now is that there are still a lot more questions that need to be answered."
How successfully the council can defend the decision at planning umpire the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) remains to be seen.
The last time VCAT heard the case, the tribunal itself discovered details about a covenant barring certain works on a specific part of the property.
"This is unfortunate when there was a reasonable prospect of a permit being granted ... on the merits," VCAT members Joel Templar and Christopher Harty said when they handed down their decision last June.
The breeders have changed some of their plans to deal with that issue. They have also detailed more ways they could muffle the sound of dogs barking.
That has not satisfied elected representatives, including Cr Julie Sloan.
"The tribunal did state that there were aspects of the proposal needing further detail," she said.
Cr Sloan wanted more information about how waste from so many animals would be managed, along with the facility's general operations and bushfire plans.
The facility would house up to 30 horses, along with up to 50 dogs, not including puppies.
Cr Sloan said there was not enough detail about how animals would be watered, how breeders would remove their waste and how land at risk of erosion would be protected.
"There are many questions that remain unanswered and many points that need to be clarified. It would be nice to see the key plans to underpin, in a more effective manner, decision making."
The breeders had told the council their plans for land and operational management would be submitted at a later date.
Seven neighbours of the proposal have objected to the breeders' plans VCAT has previously found there would be no adverse amenity impacts on them if the home, dog facility and horses come to the site.
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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.
