By KATH GANNAWAY
THE CROCKETT Group is as committed to the Edgewater Resort development in Warburton as they have ever been, according to a spokesman for the group.
Paul Little, town planning consultant on the Edgewater project, told the Mail last week that talk of a stalemate between the Upper Yarra River Reserve Committee and Crockett Group over a lease of a section of Crown land needed to meet bushfire protection requirements, was baseless.
Yarra Ranges Council in January this year voted to write to the Minister for Planning to seek his intervention to resolve what they said was an inability of the UYRRC (who act on behalf of the DELWP – Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning) and the developer to agree on a lease.
The UYRRC had offered a 10-year lease, but the council had called for a 21-year lease in line with the CFA’s recommendation to achieve the defendable space required.
Last week, UYRRC president, Gordon Buller, told the Mail his committee had agreed to the 10-year lease, but had been formally requested to extend it to 21 years in December 2015.
Mr Buller said the committee had unanimously resolved to process a non-exclusive lease of the defendable space for 21 years which would be processed when agreement was reached with the developer on a number of outstanding issues.
They included pegging the Edgewater boundary to allow them and a vegetation consultant to assess the area to be leased, secure the security fence, remove rubble from reserve and controlling weeds to prevent weed infestation into the river reserve.
Mr Buller said they were proposing that the Valuer-General set the licence fee.
Mr Little said while relevant licences were in place to allow them to carry out certain work on the project, including access to the crown land in question, they also needed a lease to comply with the defendable space requirements.
He said funding approval was at a point where they needed an extension of time to complete the development.
“What the council is saying is that any further extension of time will need to have a lease, as distinct from the licences.
“We have heads of agreement to be considered at a meeting (with UYRRC) in April and I am optimistic on the basis of discussions that there will be a resolution to be put the DELWP, and that is for the 21 years,” Mr Little said.
“There has been no breakdown between the committee and ourselves, there has been ongoing dialogue and the conditions are things we have been talking to Gordon about as recently as today,” he said.
Mr Little said it was fair to say Crockett Group had been working on the development for a number of years.
“Yes, there have been hold-ups, and those have substantially come as a consequence of requirements of authorities,” he said.
Mr Little would not commit to a completion date, but said the Crockett Group remained 100 per cent committed to delivering Edgewater.
“There is a range of different things that need to happen before the project can be formally delivered and the first and one of the most important is to resolve the planning permit and the lease.
“My understanding is that the project will then continue in earnest.”
He said everyone involved was very much looking forward to seeing construction continue on the site.
“The Crockett Group is a company of means. They are experienced developers who know the hospitality industry and have delivered numerous resorts, particularly in New South Wales, and have an affinity for beautiful regional settings such as Warburton,” he said.
“To the extent that they know what they are doing and have the capital to deliver the project, they do,” he said.
