.png)
Blog
latest
featured
tags
newsletter
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
S&K Planning Lawyers are pleased to have assisted Shamis Holdings in obtaining planning approval for 4 townhouses in Caulfield North.
On 17 December 2021, Tribunal Member Alison Glynn issued an oral decision to grant a planning permit for the proposal. Shamis had successfully reached agreement with a number of objectors but remained in dispute with Glen Eira City Council regarding the issue of development from a rear laneway.
Member Glynn concluded that the proposal responded positively to the applicable planning controls and would deliver a good planning outcome. The Member had regard to the evidence of two traffic experts called on behalf of Shamis who concluded that the access was safe and acceptable. The Tribunal took the view that the increase in traffic in the laneway was marginal and that the future residents of the proposal could access it in a safe manner.
The Tribunal’s decision is the conclusion of a long journey for Shamis who have navigated through an application to the Supreme Court to vary a restrictive covenant, a planning scheme amendment and a contested VCAT decision to finally obtain planning approval for their proposal.
Congratulations to our client on the approval of two unique dwellings designed by award winning architect, NTF Architecture, on a complex site in Templestowe.
In determining to grant a permit for the development, the Tribunal was required to consider a range of policy objectives arising from the various planning controls affecting the site, including a Bushfire Management Overlay, an Environmental Significance Overlay, a Significant Landscape Overlay, a Design and Development Overlay and a Land Subject to Inundation Overlay. Acknowledging that it was “an extremely difficult and challenging site to develop”, the Tribunal was ultimately satisfied that the permit applicant had successfully balanced the many and varied competing planning provisions.
The site is located in a unique river environment that forms part of the Yarra River corridor. Vacant and never before developed, the site is heavily vegetated and required re-subdivision to regularise the shape and size of the two lots. Having purchased the site for its bush setting, our client was motivated to ensure the proposal minimised the removal of trees and sat comfortably within the scale of the streetscape. The design was therefore informed by advice from an arboriculture expert, who worked in conjunction with John Patrick Landscape Architects and Kevin Hazell Bushfire Planning to achieve a “whole of site” response which preserved and enhanced the features of the site while managing its various constraints.
S&K Planning Lawyers instructed experts in planning, bushfire and arboriculture and worked closely with the architect, landscape architect and counsel to assist our client to realise his vision for the site. The approval is a well-deserved victory after a lengthy process, involving a proceeding in the Supreme Court to vary the restrictive covenant on title, changes in the design team during the permit application process and delays in the determination of the review proceeding due to COVID restrictions.
Level 35, Olderfleet
477 Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
