Community turmoil over Flinders Island house development

Locals have been left angry after making a submission to a planning tribunal against a development only to find out the application had already been approved.

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UPSET community members and councillors didn’t realise they had a chance to stop a controversial development going ahead, a local mayor has said.

Flinders Island Mayor Annie Revie has taken the recent approval of a multimillion-dollar home more than double the local 8m height limit as a cautionary tale.

In July 2019, Belgian architect Johan Neerman lodged a development application for Potboil Rd, White Beach, on Flinders Island.

Atop the proposed 16.065m three-storey house would sit four wind-turbines about 7m tall.

Cr Revie said the council went against the planner’s recommendation to approve the building and unanimously blocked the proposal due to concerns surrounding the height.

She said the grand architecture was out of character with the island’s typically modest buildings, many of which were well below the height limit.

Cr Revie said Mr Neerman claimed the height was necessary to keep the wind turbines operating on the innovative and sustainable home.

A drawing of the proposed residence and its wind turbines.

The council was unable to afford the $100,000 legal bill to continue the appeal process after the developer challenged the decision at the Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal.

To the surprise of locals, RMPAT issued its decision to approve the development on October 6.

A petition containing more than 170 signatures from angry residents was sent to Planning Minister Roger Jaensch and Premier Peter Gutwein on Sunday asking the state government to intervene before RMPAT could issue a permit to Mr Neerman.

But a government spokesman said they had “no role to play or authority to intervene” in a matter for which the council and RMPAT were wholly responsible.

Flinders Island Mayor Annie Revie. Picture: PATRICK GEE

Flinders Island resident Dr Fran Bryson said residents, landowners, businesspeople and tourism operators had previously sent a letter to RMPAT on October 7 only to learn feedback functions had ended the day before.

“The community is feeling devastated that this has happened, they’re bewildered, let down by the system,” Dr Bryson said.

Dr Bryson said she wished the community had known about the October 6 RMPAT review deadline.

Cr Revie said the council was also unaware they had time to make a submission to the tribunal, conceding the “brand new” council could have done more.

“We didn’t interview when it was time for public feedback … because we didn’t know to,” she said.

“You could say we should know to, but we can say we didn’t.”

Cr Revie said council was working with petition organisers “to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again”.

Mr Neerman declined to comment.