FRANKSTON Councillors voted unanimously on 10 December to turn down an extension for a planning permit on 6 Davey Street.
On 10 November 2014, councillors voted to approve the construction of a seventeen storey dwelling for “accommodation and office use” on Davey Street.
The initial condition of the permit was that construction must have begun within two years. After the passing of that initial two years, the developer Steller were granted an extension until late 2018 to get started.
The permit expired on 17 November 2018, with construction having not begun on the project. A request was made to council to extend the permit’s deadline to November 2020, but councillors had lost their patience. The extension was flatly refused.
Cr Sandra Mayer criticised the developers for “land banking”.
“This is the second extension they’re requesting, and it’s unlikely a new permit would have been granted for this development of this scale when assessed against our current planning policy,” she said.
“They have no intention of building the development.
“I worry about things like this, these people just aren’t invested in Frankston.”
Cr Toms said “pre development conditions have not been met in regards to the planning application.”
“We’ve seen that a litany of things haven’t happened with this development,” he said.
Councillors voted unanimously to refuse the extension.