‘Gold Coast’ or nothing for central Inverloch site

Four-story hotel back on the agenda for Inverloch

THE development of a four-storey residential hotel, with two shops, 40 apartments and a roof-top bar, boasting commanding views of Anderson Inlet and the magnificent surf beaches on either side, is back on the agenda for a ‘sensitive site’ on the Inverloch foreshore.

Dubbed Inverloch’s first ‘Gold Coast’ hotel by objectors, the fate of the controversial, 15-metre-high project, at 2-4 The Esplanade, will now hinge on a VCAT appeal, over five days, from January 30 to February 3 next year.

But, as revealed at last week’s Bass Coast Shire Council meeting, hopes of cutting the residential and hospitality venue down to size have taken a turn for the “worse”, since council lost control of negotiations with the applicants.

“Given this is going back to VCAT now, does that mean that the work council officers put in could be overturned and the application go back to its original format?” asked Cr Rochelle Halstead of the shire’s General Manager Place Making, James Stirton.

“Yes, that’s correct Cr Halstead, the proponent has appealed council’s original position of removing the fourth level and I’m looking to have that reinstated,” Mr Stirton said.

“Both the proponent and the objectors are parties to the appeal at VCAT,” he said.

“I’m just concerned we may end up in a worse position than we had managed to negotiate, given that it is going before VCAT and VCAT do often revert back to the initial application, but I guess that’s the process that has to be followed now.”

Cr Brett Tessari backed council’s decision to continue opposing a fourth floor.

Cr David Rooks described the proposed roof-top bar as “an eyesore not required for this hotel”.

Cr Les Larke said either way, it would still be “an unsatisfactory planning outcome for this sensitive site”.

He joined Cr Leticia Laing and Cr Bruce Kent in voting against the latest council position.

Back in June 2022, the Bass Coast Shire Council issued a Notice of Decision to Grant a Permit for the residential development, subject to a lengthy set of amendments that had to be made by the applicant, the Forte Group Pty Ltd.

These included the elimination of the fourth floor, a reduction in overall height back to 9.5 metres (original 15.45 metres), changing the bar for a café, reversal of the service lane one-way in an easterly direction to accommodate the bus stop, tree retention and landscaping, and conditions on when the project should start and finish and the building becoming operational.

But, according to the report to the December 14, 2022 meeting, while the applicant has agreed to the project starting within three years and finishing within six, the only concession to height has been to reduce the overall height by 400mm to 15 metres, by “squashing” the original four-storey design.

A Compulsory Conference was conducted by VCAT on October 14, 2022, ahead of the appeal hearing, but the applicant only provided amended plans to council on December 6, leaving little time to set new conditions.

Council officers were not impressed with their proposed changes:

“The amended plans show the maximum height of the building at the lift over run to be 5.5 metres beyond the preferred 9.5 metres and in addition, the top of the roof of the fourth level encroaches 4.37 metres beyond the preferred 9.5 metres.

“The effect of the reduction in height is to ‘squash’ the building and this in turn reduces the design quality and visual permeability of the site.

“It is further considered that the internal amenity may be impacted.

“The use has not been considered and would require further assessment of the parking demand. By way of example, the use of this area as a food and drink premises would require an additional 16 car parking spaces that are not available on the site.”

Opponents of the project have also claimed that building requirements, resulting from the decision by the applicant to revert back to the original plans, have not been reinforced and may now be out of council’s hands.

Officially, there were 30 public submissions received by council, 29 objections and one in support but a further 35 ‘late’ objections were received, making it 64 in all.

One of the key objectors is the South Gippsland Conservation Society, which leases the council-owned building, occupied by the Bunurong Environment Centre, which abuts the subject site.

Among their objections are the height of the development, claims it will “loom over” The Glade and Rainbow Park, cover 96% of the site impacting use of public amenities, that it will change the neighbourhood character, dominate the foreshore and “create driving and parking chaos”.

The group has even launched a ‘Gofundme’ appeal called ‘Save the Soul of Inverloch’ claiming this is “once in a century opportunity to get this right”. The appeal has so far raised $430 of a $30,000 goal, principally to help fund the group’s appeal to VCAT.