By JESSE GRAHAM
HEALESVILLE’S sawmill site development will be heading back to council, with a new $23 million application for the site finishing community consultation at the end of the month.
An application for the site at 17-25 Maroondah Highway was posted on the Yarra Ranges Council’s website at the start of October, with a detailed, 244-page report attached.
The report details an epicurean centre, brewery, 70 ‘lodging rooms’, two convenience restaurants, a take-away food outlet and a service station to be constructed on the site, if approved by council.
The application comes two years after a similar development for the site was knocked back by council, only to be approved by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), with the deletion of a car wash and self-storage facility.
One of the convenience restaurants and the take-away food outlet will have drive-through facilities, according to the report, though the take-away food outlet will have longer opening hours than the other two stores and will close its drive-through at 10pm.
The application asks for the service station to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, while the take-away food outlet has suggested 24-hour opening times for weekends, with reduced hours during the week.
Though the council’s official consultation period ends on 30 October, a spokesperson said submissions could be made on the application until it came before a council meeting – which was likely to be next year.
“ … it is not likely that the application will go to council before the end of the year,” they said.
Ryrie Ward Councillor Fiona McAllister said the “intensity” of the development had increased compared to the previous application.
She said that she hoped Healesville residents would take the time to read the application documents and make a submission – either for, or against the development – before the matter was closed.
“I’m hoping there’s been a strong community view on what works and what doesn’t work,” Cr McAllister said.
Emphasising that she had not yet taken a stance on the development, Cr McAllister said she had “concerns” about the zoning of the land – which had been an issue when the matter went to VCAT in 2013.
“I have concerns about the zoning of it, given its prominence, and we call it a gateway site for a reason, in that it’s the first thing you see when you go around the corner,” she said.
“The question I have is about the intensity of the development, but we’ll see what happens.”
Cr McAllister noted that, if the application ended up in VCAT, new laws could mean that more importance would be placed on the views of the community.
The council spokesperson said that, as of Monday 12 October, six objections had been received.
The Mail contacted McDonald’s Australia, to ask whether the fast food chain had any interest in the site – a spokesperson said “we don’t have any involvement in that site”.
To view the application documents, click here.
