Jennifer Pittorino
Star Weekly is looking back at the best stories of last year and this is one of them.
Maribyrnong council has reversed its earlier planning permit denial for brewery Moon Dog, which had proposed to turn Footscray’s Franco Cozzo furniture showroom into a multi-level bar and music venue.
In June, council knocked back the planning permit citing safety concerns.
The concerns for surrounding residents regarding noise and amenity impacts have now been solved, following discussions with Moon Dog owners, council said in a Facebook post on Saturday.
“Moon Dog has agreed to manage occupancy to mitigate the risks to large numbers of patrons exiting onto the narrow footpath adjacent to a busy road,“ the post said.
“This means a slight change to the previously proposed hours of operation, from 11am to 11pm Sunday to Thursday, and 1am Friday and Saturday, with a gradual reduction in occupancy after 10pm.”
Council also said fencing and the footpath adjacent to Shelley Street will be upgraded.
A planning permit would be issued shortly, subject to approval by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Following discussions, the venue’s capacity has been reduced from 900 patrons to 800 and capacity will continue to decrease every hour from 10pm until close.
Moon Dog co-founder Karl van Buuren said the team was really happy to be able to come to an agreement with council.
“We have come to an agreement on how best to make a that intersection a safer intersection for people coming to the venue,” he said.
“I think it’s going to be a great addition to that particular area, as well as to the Footscray community in making sure that we can create a really great environment in a really safe way.”
Mr van Buuren said there is no current state date for works, but it is looking like the near future.
“We’re really looking forward to getting started as we’ll be able to get started on the construction very soon, hopefully we will have it open before the middle of next year,” he said
“We’re looking forward to having some beers with all the local residents and local community.”
