The Lido, Inverloch Glade. By Catherine Watson
Developer Forte Group has lost its battle to get a fourth storey and rooftop bar in the hotel in Inverloch’s Esplanade. Meanwhile, the South Gippsland Conservation Society has lost its battle to block the hotel altogether.
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has upheld the decision of Bass Coast Shire Council to grant a permit for a three-storey hotel on the former Inverloch Marine site at 2-4 The Esplanade.
Developer Forte Group has lost its battle to get a fourth storey and rooftop bar in the hotel in Inverloch’s Esplanade. Meanwhile, the South Gippsland Conservation Society has lost its battle to block the hotel altogether.
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has upheld the decision of Bass Coast Shire Council to grant a permit for a three-storey hotel on the former Inverloch Marine site at 2-4 The Esplanade.
Both applicants failed in their separate appeals to VCAT. The Forte Group wanted more while SGCS wanted less. It asked VCAT to review the council’s decision to grant a permit, arguing “The proposed development is an excessive overdevelopment of the site inconsistent with, and detrimental to, the neighbouring public land and uses”.
The Forte Group, meanwhile, asked VCAT to restore the fourth storey and rooftop bar in ts original proposal.
In the VCAT decision, handed down last Thursday, Senior Member Laurie Hewet granted the permit but deemed the proposed fourth floor was unacceptable as it exceeded the maximum level specified in DD010 (Design and Development Overlay) by almost 5 metres.
He did not accept the Forte Group’s argument that it was “justified by the proposal’s architectural integrity”.
“The top level does not present as part of an integrated architectural whole. I agree with the Council submission that the top level detracts from the architectural integrity of the building because its dark metal cladding is dominant compared to the lighter materials pallet of the rest of the building. When viewed from The Esplanade and Ramsey Boulevard the top level appears heavy and out of place.”
He also increased the ground level setback of the hotel from the adjoining public reserve “to provide greater opportunity for an appropriate landscape and functional treatment to that interface”.
Given that the new setback is only 1.5 metres, any landscaping will be minimal. However, it will require the Forte Group to redesign the ground level of the hotel, which accommodates the carpark and two shops.
Mr Hewet said a petition of 630 signatures presented by SGCS as part of its case
was not “a statistically valid attempt to ascertain a balanced assessment of community views about the proposal. “Evidence of opposition by a section of the public is not, in and of itself, evidence of social impact or social effect.”
The SGCS had also criticised Forte’s architectural response to the landmark site and argued that it did not contribute to the low-scale coastal character of Inverloch.
However Mr Hewet concluded the design was reasonable given the setbacks and building composition which includes glazing and visually permeable balconies to the north-eastern corner of the building to provide for views from the township to the Glade Reserve.
He said he was satisfied the result represented a community benefit without significant adverse impacts or disbenefits. “The community will continue to enjoy undisturbed access to the abutting public open space. The functioning and amenity of the public open space is not unacceptably disrupted by the proposal.”
SGCS president Ed Thexton said the group was considering its options.
The Forte Group, meanwhile, asked VCAT to restore the fourth storey and rooftop bar in ts original proposal.
In the VCAT decision, handed down last Thursday, Senior Member Laurie Hewet granted the permit but deemed the proposed fourth floor was unacceptable as it exceeded the maximum level specified in DD010 (Design and Development Overlay) by almost 5 metres.
He did not accept the Forte Group’s argument that it was “justified by the proposal’s architectural integrity”.
“The top level does not present as part of an integrated architectural whole. I agree with the Council submission that the top level detracts from the architectural integrity of the building because its dark metal cladding is dominant compared to the lighter materials pallet of the rest of the building. When viewed from The Esplanade and Ramsey Boulevard the top level appears heavy and out of place.”
He also increased the ground level setback of the hotel from the adjoining public reserve “to provide greater opportunity for an appropriate landscape and functional treatment to that interface”.
Given that the new setback is only 1.5 metres, any landscaping will be minimal. However, it will require the Forte Group to redesign the ground level of the hotel, which accommodates the carpark and two shops.
Mr Hewet said a petition of 630 signatures presented by SGCS as part of its case
was not “a statistically valid attempt to ascertain a balanced assessment of community views about the proposal. “Evidence of opposition by a section of the public is not, in and of itself, evidence of social impact or social effect.”
The SGCS had also criticised Forte’s architectural response to the landmark site and argued that it did not contribute to the low-scale coastal character of Inverloch.
However Mr Hewet concluded the design was reasonable given the setbacks and building composition which includes glazing and visually permeable balconies to the north-eastern corner of the building to provide for views from the township to the Glade Reserve.
He said he was satisfied the result represented a community benefit without significant adverse impacts or disbenefits. “The community will continue to enjoy undisturbed access to the abutting public open space. The functioning and amenity of the public open space is not unacceptably disrupted by the proposal.”
SGCS president Ed Thexton said the group was considering its options.