VCAT among the pigeons

By Danielle Galvin
A BAYLES resident has taken her fight against a broiler farm to the Victorian Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) after the Cardinia Shire Council granted an extension to a planning permit in December.
Lyne White has been battling against her neighbour on Ballarto Road who applied for an extension to the existing poultry shed mid last year.
The application came to council on 12 December, and despite council officers recommending the refusal of the application, councillors allowed the permit to go ahead.
An odour expert came out to her property and told her the smell was “unacceptable.”
“At the moment, VCAT is waiting to make a decision,” she said.
“They came out and inspected both properties last week.”
Ms White, who has spoken to her neighbours in the surrounding area, said that the council had failed to notify all residents affected by the application.
She was the only one to object to the application but believes that the council did not advise some neighbours about the plans to extend the poultry shed sufficiently.
“We found out once it went to VCAT that the first notice, only three neighbours that got the letter,” she said.
“When that letter turned up we had five days left to put in an objection.
“They had up a sign on the fence with the application but the property at the back which is most affected didn’t even know about it.”
Ms White said she had lived on the property for nine years and in the summer, she couldn’t have a barbecue outside. She said sometimes she could smell the chook stench on the washing she hung on the line.
At the end of the long process, Ms White will have paid about $30,000 in her fight.
“This is money that I can’t afford,” she said.
“That’s money that I haven’t got, money I’ve borrowed, and I’m on a pension. I’m pretty peeved off.”
Cardinia Shire Council’s development services manager Brett Jackson said the council believes the application was advertised appropriately and all of the surrounding neighbours were given ample opportunity to object.
“Council advertised this application by way of sending notices to all properties with an adjoining boundary and those directly opposite the subject site,” he said.
“In addition, the applicant was required to display a sign at the front of the subject site advertising the application.”
“The applicant has provided a statutory declaration stating that this did occur in accordance with council’s requirements.”
But Ms White believes it’s a fight she needn’t have fought, if the council had rejected the original application.
She said it would be interesting to see what VCAT decided. The decision is expected in the next two to six weeks.
“Within 500 metres there are 17 houses, it’s just crazy and it’s just over one kilometre from the school,” Ms White said. “It should never have got this far.”