Council fights developer’s new plans in VCAT

Council did not make a decision on the permit within its designated 60-day timeframe and Shayher took the matter to VCAT earlier this year.

On Wednesday, councillors voted to oppose the application at VCAT, arguing three storey more than the preferred height would make the development too bulky and cast too much shadow.

The proposal also did not include ground floor commercial or retail space to activate nearby courtyards as intended under the masterplan.

AP Planning consultant Annabel Paul, who spoke on behalf of Shayher Group at the meeting, argued that the building heights in the masterplan were not maximum limits, and plans for retail and commercial space had contained the caveat “subject to market conditions”.

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“While we agree that the overall vision for the whole of the Pentridge site includes a range of uses, this is not to apply to every building within the precinct,” she said.

“It is simply not viable or desirable in our view to provide retail in every building across the site.”

Paul said the proposal was generally in accordance with the masterplan and would provide 245 new homes in Coburg that were clearly required in a housing crisis.

The Victorian government has committed to delivering 80,000 homes per year for the next decade, arguing increasing supply will address the state’s housing affordability crisis.

Greens councillor Mark Riley said while there was a housing crisis, the design should not be “this high and this bulky, behind bluestone Pentridge walls”.

“There’s huge buildings up close to the fence … it’s going to really change the feel of that street with these imposing buildings,” he said.

Socialist Alliance Councillor Sue Bolton said there were “no fantastic elements of this development that would justify the developer just trying to make big bucks out of going way over the height limit”.

The tall bluestone walls incarcerated some of the state’s most infamous criminals for nearly 150 years, including Ned Kelly and Chopper Read.

Shayher Group did not respond to requests for comment. The matter returns to VCAT on May 31.

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