THE fate of a proposal to build a 10-storey development at the controversial Endeavour Cove precinct in Patterson lakes looked set to be decided by VCAT.
Kingston Council publicly called for the planning minister to call-in the proposal for 64 Pier One Drive in July but was not successful. Council now expects the matter to be heard by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal imminently.
The Endeavour Cove precinct has a long history and is subject to complex planning controls. Plans to develop the site were first formed in the 1980s, and the planning decisions made in the following decades have been the focus of an Ombudsman investigation. Kingston Council now wants the planning minister to grant it interim planning controls at the site so that it can have more control over its future.
The mayor Steve Staikos said that Kingston Council “took swift action to prepare the planning scheme amendment and consult our community following our review of the report by the Victorian Ombudsman tabled in Parliament in October 2021 (…) The purpose of lodging our interim controls in February this year, was for the minister to ensure a proper planning process is followed.
“Unfortunately, the deadline for the Victorian planning minister to intervene and call in the development application has now passed, and the matter will be referred to VCAT. This has left the community very vulnerable to a poor planning outcome,” he said. “Council has continued to ask for interim controls to be put in place to protect the community while the complex process for introducing permanent controls is completed. The minister has one last chance to immediately act to ensure a fair process is established for all parties and to protect the Patterson Lakes community once and for all.”
Planning minister Lizzie Blandthorn was contacted for comment.
Council is currently undertaking consultation on permanent planning scheme control changes at Endeavour Cove.
VCAT is expected to consider the 10-storey Endeavour Cove proposal, and a reduction in parking at the site, later this month. Staikos said “the cart should not be put before the horse, and the planning scheme amendment should be tested before the application is considered.
Kingston Council says it contacted the planning minister asking for the application to be called in on 1 August. In a statement, council says that there are “significant inconsistencies between the building application and council’s intended planning scheme amendment for the Endeavour Cove precinct.”
The Ombudsman found that council approved plans for a three-storey development in 1999, a 40-lot subdivision in 2003, a five storey development in 2005, a four-storey development in 2009, two five-storey buildings in 2011, a rezoning in 2012, a six-storey building in 2013, and three multi-storey developments in 2018 (“Incompetence blamed for Cove decisions”, The News, 20/10/21).
In late 2019 VCAT rejected a parking reduction for a planned 10 storey building at the Endeavour Cove. Earlier this year Kingston Council coughed up $60,000 at a VCAT hearing to stop development in areas where council approved permits in 2018 for two years (“Ratepayers cover legal fees for Cove hearing”, The News, 13/4/22).
Submissions are open on planning scheme amendment C205 until 4 October. To read more or make a submission visit yourkingstonyoursay.com.au/c205
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 14 September 2022