MOYNE Shire Council has once again rejected the advice of a planning officer and voted to approve the construction of a home on a farming zone allotment less than 40 hectares in size.
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The decision to approve the home on Lot 1 in Halladale Street, Peterborough, also went against planning officer Amanda Power’s warning that it could open the way for more applications to build homes outside the township’s boundary.
Ms Power’s report to the council said the allotment had been in the Peterborough township area until 2005, after which it was rezoned as a farming zone.
Under the Moyne planning scheme, applications to build houses in farming zones require specific approval by the council if they are on lots of less than 40 hectares.
Cr Ralph Leutton commended the council staff for making the recommendation to refuse the application, saying they had a responsibility to observe council policy. But he said while there had been a change in planning policy, the council still had to strike a balance between “people, policy and politics”.
Cr Leutton said there had been no objections to the application and he recommended it be approved.
Cr Mick Wolfe supported Cr Leutton’s stance, saying the allotment was only about 1000 square metres in size and had been part of a bigger farm.
He said it was ridiculous to think that 1000 square metres could be farmed.
All services were connected to the allotment and the proposed design for the house indicated it would not block the view of nearby householders, Cr Wolfe said.
“It is appropriate for that area,” he said.
One of the applicants for the permit, Frank Carlus, told the council’s meeting on April 28 the allotment had not been farmed since 1989.
Ms Power said if the council approved the application to build the house, it was likely to encourage more applications for houses outside the Peterborough town boundary.
“The council should note that other development proposals are mooted in this part of Peterborough and those proponents will be interested in the outcome of this proposal,” Ms Power said.
She said a clear message from Peterborough residents during the development of the Peterborough urban design framework was that they wanted the township to remain small.
That message was reinforced by the Peterborough community’s recent response to the Shipwreck Coast Master Plan, Ms Power said.
The council voted unanimously to approve the application for the house.
