Beaumaris locals compare fight over Bogut mansion to The Castle

Basketballer Andrew Bogut is facing growing backlash to his plans to build a Bayside mansion, with one opponent labelling themselves “the Darryl Kerrigan of objectors”.

Andrew Bogut is proposing to build a double-storey house with a garage, gardens and in-ground pool. Picture: Adam Yip

Opponents of basketball great Andrew Bogut’s bid to build a mansion on a “special’’ Melbourne site have compared the plans to trashing a classic artwork and a scene from The Castle.

Residents and objectors to the former NBA and Aussie Boomers star’s plans for a beachside dream home say the sprawling development over 2374 sqm will slam dunk their neighbourhood character.

But Bogut’s legal team told the second day of a VCAT hearing the proposed Beaumaris property would enhance the area and could offer more green space on the two blocks he wants to build on.

Beaumaris Conservation Society spokesman Chris Sutton said the site was in a “special place’’ and compared removing trees and soil to make way for the mansion to destroying one of Monet’s most famous paintings.

Andrew Bogut's Blocks

“We have a Monet here – we have the Water Lillies,’’ he said.

“And what we are going to do is paint over the Water Lillies.

“We are going to take it back to close to a blank canvas and put something else there, put some Monet-esque touches alongside, in the edges.’’

Channelling classic Aussie movie The Castle, resident Annie Price described herself as the “Darryl Kerrigan of objectors’’, “without the aid of Dennis Denuto’’ in a fight to defend her home.

“I’m speaking more from the heart about the general vibe of the thing rather than specifics,’’ she said.

The property has been likened to one of Claude Monet’s Water Lilies paintings. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Objectors are fighting to block the development. Picture: Nicki Connolly

She said the matter was not just about planning laws and legal technicalities.

“What is proposed here is not just another planning application, it’s a test case that will change our beautiful suburb forever if it goes ahead, and not for the better,’’ she said.

“I respectfully ask Mr Bogut to please reconsider his plans.’’

Solicitor John Cicero, for Bogut, said similar plans had been approved by Bayside Council and the NBA champion had submitted a respectful proposal for the site near Ricketts Point.

“The landscape plan seeks to introduce a mix of canopy trees, lower trees and shrubs that contribute to what we think are reasonable outcomes,’’ he said.

“And there is opportunity to introduce greater canopy trees if that indeed is the appropriate response.’’

One opponent said Bogut’s mansion would change the suburb forever ‘and not for the better’. Picture: Nicki Connolly

The proposal includes a double-storey house with a garage, gardens and in-ground pool on the southern half and a northern section with no buildings but pockets of vegetation, including a large Morton Bay Fig tree.

VCAT is reviewing a decision by Bayside Councillors to reject a planning permit for a $4.6m property with a rooftop terrace, half-size basketball court, summer house, basement car park, cellar and pool.

An expert arborist speaking at the hearing suggested that many trees to be removed from the site were “dead or dying’’ or approaching the end of their life.

Objector George Ward, who has lived in the area for more than 30 years, said the development would take up about 15 per cent of the area’s total significant land overlay.

“The sheer ambition of the development, exemplified by the total footprint, scale and number of appurtenant facilities and the building bulk, materials and colour sets it apart from the vast run of residential projects – even in this salubrious area,’’ he said.

“It will dominate the landscape.’’

The hearing continues.

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