Puffing Billy: Former Belgrave Motors development plans rejected

A decision has been made about the future of a major Belgrave development, that was set to impact on Puffing Billy Railway.

VCAT has refused to grant a permit for a multistorey shopping centre development in Belgrave.

A controversial development near Puffing Billy Railway won’t go ahead, after VCAT upheld Yarra Ranges Council’s decision to reject the plan.

Save Belgrave Township Group and the council had been fighting against the proposal for a multistorey shopping centre development at the former Belgrave Motors site.

And the groups received good news last week, with VCAT refusing to grant a permit to developers Pulitano Properties.

The development application for 14 Monbulk Rd included plans for a supermarket, shops, cafe, offices and a childcare centre.

It was rejected by the council in October 2020 on a number of grounds, including overall design and built form concerns, traffic issues and vegetation loss.

The tribunal members also found a number of “significant shortcomings” with the proposal, including “the unacceptable impact … on vegetation within Puffing Billy land without the consent of the ERT (Emerald Tourist Railway) Board”.

Leader previously reported the development was set to destroy part of the tourist-attracting scenery of the iconic railway.

The proposal was set to have an “unacceptable impact” on vegetation on Puffing Billy’s land.

The tribunal members also said they had “significant concern” about the lack of sufficient detailed analysis of the impact of the traffic generated by the proposal on local roads.

They also said the visual impact of the eastern and northeastern elevations of the proposed building would result in an “unacceptable outcome”.

The tribunal members also noted the failure of the proposal to result in acceptable outcomes for pedestrian movement along the frontages of the site and its failure to provide stronger pedestrian links from the main road to Puffing Billy station.

Yarra Ranges Council’s planning, design and development director Kath McClusky said the council was pleased with the outcome of the VCAT hearings.

“It is council’s view that the application would present an overdevelopment of the site; would impact the Puffing Billy interface which is protected; and does not meet the requirements of many of the policies contained within the Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme,” Ms McClusky said.

“We would encourage any future application for the site to consider all of the matters raised in the VCAT decision and to speak with the (council) planning department about future outcomes for the Belgrave Motors site.”

The old New Belgrave Motors site back in 2008.

Belgrave resident Paul O’Halloran, part of the group who fought the proposal at VCAT, said

he hoped the developer would have a rethink about the future of the site.

“It’s an eyesore; it’s a terrible looking site and it’s been like that for quite a long time,” he said.

“We’d like to see something happen there that is supportive and positive in the community rather than something that was an inappropriate development, which is why we opposed it.”