The Victorian Civil Administration Tribunal has upheld a Yarra Ranges Council decision to refuse a permit for a double storey home in a Green Wedge zone at Yarra Junction.
Council initially refused Paul and Tamara Cochrane’s application for a permit to use and develop the land on Settlement Road in September 2024, despite Council being generally supportive of the proposal.
Melbourne Water objected to the application, initially saying the flood hazard of the site made it unsafe from flood risk, particularly accessway and the local road network.
The authority maintained its concerns despite amended plans being provided by the Cochranes.
The land is vacant apart from shedding.
It is currently farmed for cropping with 20 per cent used for conservation purposes associated with the Little Yarra River which runs along its southern boundary.
The amended plans included a double-storey dwelling with a maximum overall height of 8.8 metres, removal of the originally proposed septic tank system and effluent disposal envelopment, and replacement with connection to reticulated sewerage services via a sewerage outfall.
No vegetation was to be removed in the proposal.
VCAT Member Christopher Harty’s ruling noted that flooding was the threshold issue “because it is the hazard posed by flooding of Little Yarra River to the south and the Yarra River to the north on safety associated with a one per cent Annual Exceedance Probability flood event.
“This extends to both the dwelling location and the accessway from it, across the site, and onto the local road network including timing and duration of flooding”.
The ruling included a detailed breakdown of the Member’s considerations.
“Overall, I do not consider the flood risk acceptable,” Mr Harty wrote in his report.
