Wait for shops decision

By Kath Gannaway
THE Independent Panel Hearing into the proposed supermarket development at Yarra Glen ended on Thursday after four days of submissions from objectors, the developer and the Shire of Yarra Ranges.
Panel members Kathryn Mitchell and William O’Neil presided over the hearing which is the next step in a three and a half year attempt by Yarra Valley Land Development to get approval for a large supermarket complex with roof-top parking and five specialty shops.
The panel will make a recommendation to the Shire of Yarra Ranges on whether part of the land should be rezoned from residential to business zone 1 to allow the planning process to proceed.
The proposal also includes the development of a open parkland and wetlands area between the supermarket, Melba Highway and the racecourse.
Ms Mitchell and Mr O’Neil heard from Bill Molyneux who designed the plan. He said it would transform a wasteland into a valuable open space for the community and act as a tourist drawcard.
He said the wetlands proposal was supported by Melbourne Water and the shire.
However objectors are concerned the scale of the development would threaten the village atmosphere of Yarra Glen.
Local artist Noel Nicholson said she was saddened by the insensitivity of the developer to the beauty of the town and described the scale of the development as ‘overwhelming’.
“Yarra Glen is a centre of the Yarra Valley which purports to be a centre of excellence and that’s what we want it to remain,” she said.
The proximity to retirement units at the south-east corner of the site was another concern. Resident John Thurkle told the panel the development would be one metre from the corner of his land and that he was concerned about noise and air pollution and loss of privacy.
“It was our expectation that as the land was zoned residential since we moved here 14 years ago that the most we would have was residential development,” he said.
Another resident, Malcolm Calder, called for a design development order over the development and questioned the size and viability of the proposed 2300 square metre supermarket.
“The footprint is just too large,” he said and suggested a more modest 1700sqm development would address many of the objectors’ concerns.
Mark Bartley, the solicitor representing Yarra Valley Land Development, rejected a design development order saying the town and pointed to a number of tilt-slab buildings build in the town over the past decade as an example of where an order would have served the community better.
He said the YVLD had consulted with Mr and Mrs Thurkle and redesigned the proposed development to bring the line of the building back to the Thurkle’s property boundary.
In response to scale, YVLD director Chris O’Connor said the success of the development depended on maintaining the proposed size.
“MetCash and Safeway have done their own analysis – it’s a $10m investment and both have indicated a 20 year lease with a 20 year option,” he said.
He said the attraction for specialty shops was in having a high-level supermarket as part of the development.
He said there were significant costs associated with the parklands development and in compensating the current supermarket owners.
“If you reduce the size you only reduce the building costs,” he said.
Ms Mitchell said the report give reasons for their findings and would take one of three forms – recommend the amendment be adopted as exhibited, that it be adopted with changes or that it be abandoned.
She said they would aim to have the report to the council within six to eight weeks and that council must release it after 28 days.
“The latest you would be aware of the findings is towards the end of May,” Ms Mitchell told the hearing.