POTENTIAL parking and noise problems from a proposed sports bar in Mordialloc has convinced Kingston councillors to heed community concern about a three-level pub in the heart of Main St.
Councillors unanimously voted for Kingston Council to oppose a planning application by Sporting Globe Bar and Grill to open a 450-capacity venue at 590 Main St, the current location of the AKL Discount Store.
Council received 161 objections to the planning application before last Monday evening’s public council meeting where the application for the pub was debated.
“The application is inappropriate for the family-friendly character of Main St, Mordialloc,” Paul Cahir, speaking on behalf of objectors at the meeting, told councillors.
“The amenity of the local area would be adversely affected. Numerous licensed venues in the Mordialloc Activity Zone have led to an increase in alcohol-fuelled violence and anti-social behaviour in the business and residential zones of Mordialloc.”
Objectors say there are already too many licensed premises in Mordialloc.
“The safety of the community must be paramount.”
Mr Cahir criticised “the sheer size” of the proposed sports bar and said late trading hours and “promotion of gambling” are concerns alongside traffic congestion and a lack of car parking space if the venue gets the go ahead.
Cr Geoff Gledhill said “a beer barn” is not appropriate for the centre of Mordialloc.
“It really is something, in my view, in so many ways, that does not fit with what we’re trying to do in Mordialloc.”
Cr Gledhill was unimpressed with a suggestion in the application that “there is ample parking in Mordialloc” after 5pm.
Cr Ron Brownlees noted the venue would be reliant on public car parking spaces and council-owned spaces for pub goers.
“The parking in Mordialloc is an issue already and not just at peak times,” he said.
An open-air rooftop terrace on the third floor could also see neighbours annoyed by noise, according to Cr Brownlees.
The land is zoned Commercial 1 so a planning permit is not required to convert the premises into a tavern.
A council officers’ report recommended councillors support the application subject to some operating hours and signage conditions.
Councillors rejected that recommendation and all nine voted for council to oppose the planning application at a scheduled 27 March hearing at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
The applicant lodged the application with VCAT after councillors decided not to debate the planning application before council elections on 22 October.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 7 December 2016
