Village parking pressure grows

By Jim Mynard
CAR parking in Berwick Village is becoming a concern to business people.
The Berwick Village Chamber of Commerce is working hard to bring more people into the village but this and the growing success of business in the precinct is placing considerable stress on existing car parks.
And the council is considering a report on creating a dedicated decked car park in the village to accommodate any further growth.
Also some business people are upset over the formula used to charge for car parks and the decisions made on who should or should not provide spaces and how many.
The council came under pressure over its parking formula to allocate parking spots for a second floor office redevelopment in High Street and also for a waiver on the parking requirement on a cafe to operate in Pioneers Park.
The café received a waiver because it and the park are technically outside the Berwick Village commercial area. Berwick landlord Ron Currie said he believed his High Street office redevelopment would create more parking availability because of a changed use for the building.
He said the present use had people coming into the village for perhaps two hours and taking parks in numbers far more than offices would generate. Several restaurants have been allowed cash in lieu for parking space reductions on the basis of night trade and the availability of parking at night. However, day businesses say this is unfair because they had already paid for the parking and that the restaurants should pay the full requirement to provide for car park upgrades such as lighting.
Mr Currie said the council had rejected his request for reduced cash in lieu payment for parking allocated to the office block despite an officer recommendation that his application be approved.
He said he expected that the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) would overturn the council’s refusal.
“The fact is that I am giving them a car parking credit under the redevelopment because I will be reducing demand on parking by a change in use,” he said.
However, the council is in the process of developing a longrange plan for parking in the village.
Casey mayor Neil Lucas said this would include consideration of a report on decked car parking.