MOYNE Shire councillors have marched to the beat of their own drum when it comes to deciding on the sale of a number of properties containing disused halls.
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The council is pushing ahead with the sale of three halls, but in two of the cases councillors ignored the advice of officers when it came to figuring out the best way to sell the properties.
The decisions centred on the properties existing in farming zones and requiring planning permits for dwellings to be built on them.
Under state guidelines, the council must try to get the best price from any land sale.
Council officers recommended selling the block containing the Rosebrook Hall in Korongah North Road with a planning permit to allow “for the use and development of land for a dwelling”, subject to conditions.
However the councillors rejected that recommendation and went with an alternate motion that will see the property sold without a planning permit.
Council officers also recommended selling the the block containing the Nirranda Hall on the Great Ocean Road with a permit for a dwelling, but the councillors narrowly approved an alternate motion, with mayor Colin Ryan using his casting vote to allow for the sale of the property without a planning permit attached.
Officers did have a win with the Nullawarre North Hall in Rowans Road, with councillors eventually agreeing to follow the recommendation to sell the block with a permit for a dwelling, but only after an unsuccessful push by Crs Ralph Leutton and Kelvin Goodall for the land to sell without a permit.
Debate on each property centred on what was the most likely use for each of the blocks, with some councillors arguing that connecting a permit for a dwelling to the property may limit the possibilities of commercial use or for the block to be absorbed into adjoining farms.
Moyne Shire Council is also pressing on with the sale of the sites of the former Port Fairy preschool and maternal and child health centre.
The sales will proceed by public tender, with council planning get a demolition permit and sell the block as a vacant parcel of land.
Cr Jim Doukas objected to the block, which consists of three titles, being sold by tender, instead insisting it should be sold by auction to get the “maximum outcome”.
“This parcel of land, in the middle of Port Fairy, is best served by a sale by public auction,” Cr Doukas said.