PLANS to build a childcare centre in Barmah Court have been rejected by VCAT.

Frankston Council rejected the proposal for 21 Barmah Court in Frankston South in 2019. That decision was then appealed to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

The plan was to build a childcare centre which would accommodate 84 children, running from 6.00am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday. Some existing trees would have had to be removed to allow for construction works to take place.

VCAT held hearings in October to consider the proposal. This month it handed down its order to reject a permit for the developer.

One of the key reasons given for the rejection by VCAT was the traffic impacts to Barmah Court and nearby Kara Street. “Whilst Kara Street can technically accommodate the traffic generation from a traffic engineering perspective, the amount of car parking required for this land use generates traffic that significantly increases the existing volumes in a small local connector road,” the order read. “[Kara Street] provides the sole means of access to Barmah Court, which is described in the planning scheme as having characteristics akin to a country lane. 

“Kara Street is part and parcel of the residential amenity currently enjoyed by Barmah Court residents. Kara Street is their sole means of access to their residential street and contributes to the pleasantness (amenity) that they currently enjoy.  Traffic increases ranging from a doubling over the course of the day to a four-fold increase in the peak hours is an unacceptable impact upon the pleasantness/amenity of this particular residential area. Again, this is another part of the cumulative amenity impact that has lead me to conclude this land use is not acceptable in this location.”

First published in the Frankston Times – 30 March 2021

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