Rub for pub

By Paul Dunlop
FEARS that a giant hotel proposed for Pakenham would hamper emergency service operations have been upheld by the state planning umpire.
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal quashed plans for a fourstorey hotel in the Lakeside at Pakenham residential estate, saying it was an overdevelopment of the site.
Adelaidebased Prizac Investments was behind the proposal to feature a sports bar, gaming room, cafe and brasserie, bistro, cocktail lounge and accommodation in a highquality dining and entertainment hub.
Supporters of the development said it was just what Pakenham needed. But the size, location and design prompted strong opposition from Victoria Police and other emergency service authorities.
The 13.6 metre high complex, proposed to be open 20 hours a day, was for land adjacent to the new $9.5 million police and emergency services complex currently under construction.
VCAT members Rachel Naylor and Christina Fong found after a sixday hearing that the proposal was inappropriate.
“We have decided that no permit should be issued,” Ms Naylor and Ms Fong said.
Ms Naylor and Ms Fong acknowledged that a hotel was allowed on the site but were critical of the size and design of the complex as proposed.
They also upheld the concerns of police, Country Fire Authority and State Emergency Service officials, who argued traffic generated by the development could impact on their response times.
Ms Naylor and Ms Fong said there could be “life and death consequences” if access to the new emergency service complex was blocked, even momentarily.
“Whilst less than a minute’s delay may not sound like much, when consideration is given to the fact the overall emergency callout response time is four to eight minutes for CFA or SES, a oneminute delay assumes significant proportions,” the report said.
Hotel facilities at ground level would have been complemented by car parking in the two middle levels and 45 serviced apartments on top.
Ms Naylor and Ms Fong said the pub complex would have almost completely filled the 3164 square metre block.
They said a fourstorey complex was not necessarily out of the question but agreed with Cardinia Shire Council description of the building as a “big box”.
“The building bulk created overwhelms the site and immediate surrounds and the construction to all boundaries is out of character with the rest of the neighbourhood centre.”
The issue was before VCAT after the Prizac Group claimed the council failed to make a decision on time.
Council backed objectors, declaring at a meeting last November that the proposal was an overdevelopment of the site and could not be supported in its current form.