Hobsons Bay council has refused to grant a permit for a six-storey development which would have been Altona’s tallest residential building.
The tallest in Altona is currently five storeys.
Developer Redleigh Investments proposed to build a six-storey apartment block and retail centre on the corner of Sargood and Blyth streets.
The site currently has two single-storey houses on it.
Redleigh submitted plans to the council for a 35-dwelling residential development, with two shops, an office and 63 on-site parking spaces – 12 fewer than required under the council planning scheme.
Forty-two objections were submitted to the council, with residents raising concerns about the scale of the development, its appearance and the extent of the parking reduction being sought.
A special planning committee meeting to discuss the proposal was held on Thursday, when councillors Peter Hemphill, Carl Marsich and Jason Price defied an officer’s recommendation to allow the development.
They refused the proposal on 11 grounds, including that it was an over development of the site, failed to provide an adequate level of residential amenity, had inadequate carparking layout and access and was contrary to orderly and proper planning.
Altona Community Action Group spokesman Aaron Hunt said residents were “glad the councillors shared their concerns about inappropriate and opportunistic developments such as this”.
“Our concern from here is to ensure council resource a rigorous defence of the decision, as well as expediting the required policy work to constrain building heights in and around the Pier Street precinct,” he said.
The developer has 60 days to appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
The architect acting for the developer, Vincent Interlandi, said he had not received an official instruction from his client on whether the matter would proceed to the tribunal.
“I can only speculate the answer would be ‘yes’,” he said.
