233, 235 and 237 Victoria Street, Abbotsford
VCAT has upheld Council's decision to refuse a planning permit for a seven storey building at 233, 235 and 237 Victoria Street, Abbotsford.
The application was for :
- Development of the land for the construction of a seven storey building
- Use of the land for 30 dwellings
- A reduction in the standard number of car parks required, with 10 car parks proposed.
- Waiver of the car parking and loading pay requirement associated with the proposed ground floor shops. Please note: there is no planning permit required for the shop use component.
More information about the proposal is available in the documents below.
VCAT Hearing
The applicant appealed to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) against Council's failure to determine the application within 60 days.
The VCAT hearing was held in early February 2013. In early March, VCAT upheld Council’s decision to refuse the application.
Council’s grounds of refusal were based on concerns regarding demolition of the buildings, impact of built form on heritage significance of surrounding properties and impact on neighbourhood character and amenity of the apartments.
The Tribunal, (at paragraph 4 of its decision) clearly outlined that while Council and residents made submissions regarding heritage and, more specifically, demolition of the buildings, the Tribunal formed a view that no planning permit was required for demolition of the buildings.
The Tribunal determined that the sites were ‘clearly a location where significant urban consolidation is sought to be achieved' but found that the proposed buildings lacked the ‘inherent design quality required for the review sites’.
In the decision, the Tribunal highlighted elements of the proposal it considered to be well conceived being:
- The street wall heights respect the scale of the bank building on the corner and make a logical transition to the lower shops
- The set backs to the upper portions recognise their importance.
The area of concern for the Tribunal was the appearance of the buildings, describing them as 'heavy, monolithic and drab’.
It is acknowledged that the Tribunal supported Council’s case but also outlines at paragraph 30:
‘We therefore consider that built form of a higher design quality is required in this location. This might be more easily achieved if the building were marginally higher in scale. While Council was opposed to the proposed height at six and seven storeys respectively, we consider that a more elegant building would be preferable in this location, and that such elegance sometimes goes hand in hand with increased height and presence.’
A link to VCAT's full decision will be provided on this page when it is published on VCAT's website.
Planning Application and Supporting Documents
In December 2012, the applicant submitted substituted plans:
Changes include:
• Deletion of two levels (from nine storeys to seven storeys)
• Addition of a glazed screen above apartment entry gates
• Retail entry door, booster cupboard and glazed screen above to be flush with boundary
• Articulation of flanking wall
• North balcony depth increased to 1.6m
Substituted plans
233 - 237 and 241 - 245 Victoria Street South Elevation.pdf (179.03 KB)
233 - 237 Victoria Street Site A Ground Floor Plan.pdf (1.95 MB)
233 - 237 Victoria Street Site A Shadow Diagrams.pdf (1.32 MB)
Superseded plans
Town Planning and Urban Context Report (1.58 MB)
Architectural Report & Plans (Part One) (2.77 MB)
Architectural Report & Plans (Part Two) (1.20 MB)
Architectural Report & Plans (Part Three) (1.60 MB)
Architectural Report & Plans (Part Four) (2.03 MB)
Traffic Engineering Assessment (1.69 MB)
Heritage Advice (146.75 KB)
Acoustic Design Report (559.16 KB)
Wind Effect Statement (1.05 MB)
Preliminary House Energy Rating Report (346.01 KB)
Waste Management Plan (600.12 KB)
Further information
Sarah Thomas
Principal Planner
9205 5005
Sarah.Thomas@yarracity.vic.gov.au
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