By JESSE GRAHAM
ROCHFORD Wines’ A Day on the Green concerts will be allowed to have unlimited patron numbers, with restricted parking, following a planning scheme amendment passed last week.
The amendment, which allows concerts to be held without planning permits, uncapped patron limits and a 3000-vehicle parking limit, was passed at last week’s Yarra Ranges Council meeting.
Provided that Planning Minister Matthew Guy signs off on the changes, concerts such as the A Day on the Green concert series will be allowed to take place without applying to council for permission yearly.
Former Yarra Ranges councillor Jeanette McRae spoke at the council meeting against the amendment, and said she did not support the uncapped patron limit.
Ms McRae noted that the planning scheme amendment, which has been developed for the last two years, was originally advertised with a capacity limit of 10,000.
She also said she wanted more public notification of the concert dates, so people that need to use the highway can plan to avoid it on the evening of concerts.
Yarra Ranges director of Planning, Building and Health, Andrew Paxton, said while the original application was for a 10,000 patron limit, the council resolved for an uncapped limit for a public panel hearing earlier this year.
James Goulding from SJB Planning represented Rochford at the meeting, and said that the current system of using high-visibility lit signs one week from the concert was ample.
However, he said Rochford would be willing to enter into discussions on how to better notify the community and that the venue’s Event Management Plan could be adjusted on this matter.
Mr Goulding said traffic from the concerts would be mitigated by encouraging Lilydale-bound vehicles to head down Hill Road, rather than the highway, and by proposing an exit to be made via the property’s western boundary.
He said due to the previous patron limit, the venue had been unable to book Bruce Springsteen for his recent A Day on the Green tour, and that the changes would benefit the community.
Mayor Fiona McAllister moved for the amendment to be approved and passed on to the minister, and the motion was passed in a vote.
Cr McAllister said while driving along the highway on the night of a concert was “bloody annoying”, she believed the amendment’s restriction on parking might resolve some traffic issues.
She said Rochford’s history of consulting with the community, along with the venue’s event management plan, would help to resolve any issues that arise in future.
Councillor Jim Child declared an indirect conflict of interest in the item, as he had submitted on the matter before being elected to council, and was not present for the discussion or vote.
