Tyabb Airfield: ‘Church hour’ scrapped after permit battle at VCAT
A 42 year old rule that hasn’t been followed since 2005 has been overturned. Peninsula Aero Club says the decision is a win for the community but ratepayers could end up with a hefty bill.
South East
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A “weird” rule to stop planes from interrupting Tyabb church services – that haven’t been held since the 1970s – has been scrapped.
And Tyabb Airfield users fear the decision could cost Mornington Peninsula ratepayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal ruled on Thursday that Peninsula Aero Club (PAC) has existing use rights to take off and land at Tyabb Airfield between 9.30am and 10.30am on Sunday mornings.
The tribunal ordered Mornington Peninsula Shire to remove the church hour condition from all PAC permits.
The rule, which has not been enforced for more than 40 years, was introduced to accommodate Sunday Services at All Saints Church, 16 Mornington-Tyabb Road, Tyabb.
The church has not held services since 1978 and is now a popular cafe and function centre known as The Hungry Peacock.
PAC president Jack Vevers said the ruling was a significant win.
“It will contribute to safety for pilots, maintain the current amenity for the community and help preserve the viability of this important asset for the community,” Mr Vevers said.
“The decision has paved the way to substantiate our contention that our airport operations are lawful uses under our permits.”
He said the PAC planned to apply for costs from the church hour proceeding to be paid by the council.
““It’s wrong that ratepayers and PAC have had to bear the costs of the Shire’s folly when the money should have been better spent,” Mr Vevers said.
Mornington Peninsula Mayor Sam Hearn said the VCAT ruling was a sensible decision.
“The church hour rule was a perfect example of the weird and dysfunctional anomalies in historical permits,” he said.
“Council was already looking to have it removed when the PAC decided to take the matter to VCAT.”
He said the tribunal ruling in favour of the PAC did not automatically mean costs would also be awarded against the council.
“Costs are generally only awarded against another party if they were involved in bringing an unfair or frivolous case,” he said.
The decision was another win for the club in its long running battle with the council to prove it has the right permits to operate at the airfield.
It followed an earlier VCAT ruling in the club’s favour over a shed for a tractor and a permit skirmish with the council that almost grounded one of Australia’s biggest airshows.
The PAC will face off with the council at VCAT again in October after the shire lodged an enforcement order application in a bid to obtain an “independent adjudication for the continuing use of the airfield” by the PAC.
“In order to place the airfield on a stable legal footing going forward, it’s crucial we get an independent ruling from VCAT on the conditions for the current and future operation of the airfield,” Cr Hearn said.
Mr Vevers said the proceeding raised questions about the “Shire’s sensibility to the wasted costs associated with the course of this action”.
He said those costs were likely to be in the range of “hundreds of thousands of ratepayers dollars”.
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