Local residents are celebrating after authorities overturned a decision to approve a 111-room hotel on “essential” farmland at the entrance of Ballarat.
Key points:
- VCAT overturns hotel proposal for farmland on the edge of Ballarat, circumventing council approval
- Residents say the ‘power is in the hands of the people’ after self-representing at the tribunal
- Local resident Kirrily Liddle says the area is protected for farming use, and needs to stay that way despite urban sprawl
Kirrily Liddle lives 150 metres from the proposed Western Freeway hotel site project in Warrenheip, which a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has now rejected.
Last August, the Ballarat City Council approved the proposal to allow the major development to go ahead despite the area being mainly zoned for farm use.
Ms Liddle, who was one of the parties that took the decision to the tribunal last year, said the VCAT result was a reflection of the power of the people.
“I’m proud that we stuck to our guns and forced this issue – we knew that it was better to be kept as farmland,” Ms Liddle said.
“We really wanted to protect our area from this type of development.”
One section on the western side of the Warrenheip site is zoned for mixed use, but residents expressed concerns that a hotel would cause higher volumes of traffic, which would be dangerous.
“The roads are terrible, we have two really dangerous intersections,” Ms Liddle said.
“My aim is that, any development that happens in the Warrenheip area considers the impacts. I don’t want the intersection upgrade to be an afterthought.”
The site, next to Ballarat’s Mill Markets on Mahers Road, is a 5.5-hectare parcel of land sandwiched between residential properties and farmland to the east, and the ever-growing edges of Ballarat to the west.
The two-storey residential hotel was approved by council last year with a spa and function centre, a restaurant, and a gin distillery.
Forte Developments was contacted for comment.
“The scale and intensity of the proposed land use and development is significant for this site,” said senior VCAT member, Rachel Naylor.
“The proposal is not compatible with the surrounding land … The proposal does have impacts on the surrounding land, including unacceptable impacts.”
After beginning with mediation sessions 18 months ago, the group of residents fighting the proposal cited concerns about the impact on the agricultural value of the land by way of water, weeds, biosecurity and more.
Ms Liddle said the edges of the city were still flanked by “essential” farmland, which should not be lost to urban sprawl.
“The VCAT process is definitely intimidating, but it’s definitely worth the process,” she said.
“We didn’t have the money for legal representation, but we didn’t let that deter us. We represented ourselves.”
Ms Liddle said that despite the city’s growth, she was confident the farmland would remain in the hands of farmers for future generations.
“I think we are pretty well covered, with the overlays and protections on the land,” she said.
“We can’t have high-density housing or anything in the area … [The developer] has already sold one block of land back to the farmers, and another is up for sale.”
City of Ballarat development and growth director Natalie Robertson recognised the VCAT decision.
“All parties to the planning permit application have a right to appeal a decision of council to the tribunal,” Ms Robertson said.
“And while the position of council was to support this proposal, the City of Ballarat acknowledges this decision of VCAT.”
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