Jennifer Pittorino
Moon Dog’s Karl van Buuren has labelled Maribyrnong council’s decision to the brewery’s planning permit as a big surprise.
As reported by Star Weekly, Moon Dog had been planning to open a brewery with a DJ booth and rooftop bar on the site of Franco Cozzo’s iconic Footscray store.
Council knocked back the planning permit on July 14 amid safety concerns.
“The decision came as a surprise because we had been working with the planning department for the last nine months, and thought we were working well together,” he said.
Following the decision, Mr van Buuren sat down with councillors and the mayor to discuss the future of the building.
“We have straightened out some of the concerns that were detailed in the refusal documents, council is open to working with us now,” he said.
“We went over all of the safety concerns and we are confident we can all come to an agreement.
“The overarching message to come from the meeting was that council is supportive but we need to do it in a safe manner.”
Mr van Buuren is confident Moon Dog will be the party to bring new life into the historic building.
“Ever since this project was announced we have continued to receive a positive response from the community,” he said.
“We are looking forward to bringing this venue to Footscray and we think we are the right people to do so.”
At this stage Mr van Buuren said there are no time frames for completion but they will be hard at work working through the refusal reasons.
“We will be able to provide a safe space, we are confident that we will be able to achieve an outcome beneficial to the community,” he said.
