seville supermarket rezoning application

Report from the roundtable – 27 Oct

At this week’s council meeting we had to consider an application for a supermarket specialty shops, petrol station, car wash and car parking in Seville. The application also proposed a rezoning of residential land to a business zone.

I could not support the application. I had grave concerns that the development would be a wholesale transformation of the township of Seville. I asked councillors if we want a retail development of 4,897 square metres in Seville? I didn’t think we would.

Seville is described in our Regional Strategy Plan as a ‘local centre’. These centres have a primary role of providing for daily convenience needs and it is prescribed that they will generally have a floorspace of less than 2,500 square metres. 4,897 square metres is well over this limit. Our Municipal Strategic Statement identifies Seville as a ‘rural township’, essentially a dormitory residential area with small commercial centres servicing local needs. This application is not a good fit with a rural township.

I also had concerns about the blank wall residents on Britton Road would have to contend with, the sheer scale of the development would fundamentally change the scale and character of the town centre and their outlook of the world.

I have concerns that on an already congested road, large volumes of traffic will be generated causing even more delays and congestion on the Warburton Highway.

I cannot agree to rezone residential land so close to a township to business for this sort of overdevelopment, the residential land, which is currently vacant, could be used to develop 11 residential blocks or something like aged care accommodation, a far more appropriate proposition for the site.

If this supermarket application goes ahead it will be the largest supermarket in the Shire of Yarra Ranges, it is a complete overdevelopment of Seville. It is too big, I have concerns about the loss of residential land and I did not think the application had merit to be put on exhibition.

This time round the council voted to seek authorisation from the Minister of Planning to prepare and exhibit a planning scheme amendment to rezone the land and accept the concurrent planning application for the supermarket, specialty shops, petrol station, car wash and car parking.

It was one other councillor and myself who opposed the motion.
(note: Cr McRae was an apology for this council meeting)