Expansion to development on The Esplanade, Torquay rejected

Torquay residents have notched a major win against developers hoping to build a four-storey apartment block on the Surf Coast town’s foreshore.

Torquay residents have notched a major win against developers hoping to build a four-storey apartment block on the Surf Coast town’s foreshore.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) this week rejected a developer’s bid to add a fourth level to an already-approved three-storey residential and retail building on the Esplanade, between Zeally Bay Rd and Gilbert St.

The developers had applied to VCAT to amend their planning permit to allow for a fourth floor, containing a four-bedroom penthouse – driving the maximum height of the development to 16m.

Artists impression of the four-storey tower

Initial $6m plans for the residential and retail development were rejected by the Shire in 2019, before being approved at VCAT.

The Surf Coast Shire, 3228 Residents Association and a neighbouring café all argued against the move at VCAT, with the shire pointing out there were no four-storey developments adjacent to the foreshore apart from The RACV Torquay Resort and The Sands.

VCAT Senior member Rachel Naylor did not achieve the objectives of the Shire’s Design and Development Overlay for the site “of creating a casual and relaxed built form that reinforces the general modest, human scale”.

“The fourth storey will be prominent,” Ms Naylor said. “The fourth storey does not result in a greater diversity of land use on this site as the residential apartments remain and the same number of apartments remain as a result of this proposed change.”

“The proposed fourth storey is not an acceptable design response.”

3228 Residents Association secretary Sue O’Shanassy said the local community welcomed the VCAT decision, which was the latest in a series of attempts by developers to build major projects in Torquay.

“We have, over the last two or three years, had the proposal for a five-story hotel, which fortunately didn’t proceed and would have been totally out of character, we’ve had applications for three-stories and I think it was 34 apartments, further down The Esplanade, which VCAT disallowed because that area is predominantly two-storey,” Ms O’Shanassy said.

“What it does is affect our town character, and change us into something we’re not.

“We don’t want to stop development, we just want it to be appropriate and within the planning scheme.”

Originally published as Expansion to development on The Esplanade, Torquay rejected