Level 2, 124 Exhibition Street. Melbourne, Victoria ~ Ph: 03 9650 4555 ~ Fax: 03 9650 8286   mcdonaldmurholme@mcdonaldmurholme.com.au
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Introduction

1.1 Background

The Bass Coast Strategic Coastal Planning Framework (‘Strategic Framework’) identifies Grantville as the emerging district centre for the northern districts of the Bass Coast Shire. The Structure Plan for Grantville contained in the Framework emphasises the opportunities presented by the main town centre intersection for improving the town’s appearance and functionality. It suggests that the Grantville town centre is underdeveloped and lacks a sense of coordinated development and form.

It identifies the subject site (‘the Site’) for rezoning to mixed use. The Site comprises 4 acres (15,536sq.m) of vacant land.

Emerging issues for the Framework area include development in activity nodes, with particular reference to under-utilised activity node centres. The framework suggests that consolidation of land parcels and streetscape improvements would benefit the local economy and attract visitors. The existing township has a grid pattern of lot dispersion with more irregular cul de sac or semi-curvilinear patterns of subdivision occurring nearer the fringes.

The Site is located on the southeast corner of the town centre intersection. As vacant land it offers significant opportunities for development that consolidates and improves the town centre and provides a sense of form from which the town can build, and thereby fulfilling the recommendations of the Framework.

 

1.2 History of the Site

For 54 years (until a fire in 1929) the Site was a central hub of activity for the people of Grantville and the surrounding areas. Its history is rich with the vibrance and colour of daily life of the people of a time gone by.

In 1870 the land was surveyed and a couple of years later sold off into 10 lots. Mr John Dickens purchased one of these lots (the site) and in 1875 built a Post Office and General Store. He later gave up the General Store business and extended the buildings on his site to include a hotel. A licence for the Hotel was granted in the 1870’s and it was known as The Grantville Hotel.

Between the 1870s and 1929 the site was the centre for the pursuit of a variety of activities including business, banking, sport, transport, entertainment and hospitality. It came to life in an era before automation and sophisticated communication.

The site was a place where isolated selectors and travellers met to buy supplies, to exchange gossip and discuss news. It was also a place to quench thirsts after a long day at the market, the races or from leading a team of bullocks from one of the local timber mills to the Grantville Jetty.

Until 1877 the Cobb and Co coach serviced the site.

In 1884 a Savings Bank operated out of the Post Office on the site.

In 1885, the inaugural meeting of the Grantville Agricultural Society met at the Grantville Hotel and decided to stage a show the following year. The Hotel was the meeting place for many of the committees formed to put on the show. It was where the show judges met and entertained and no doubt where many of the show attendees and participants met at the end of the day to share their tales.

In 1890, the Colonial Bank opened a branch in the small house that Mr Dickens had built next to the Hotel.

The Grantville Hotel changed ownership several times in the early days. In 1892, it was demolished by the then owner Mrs Thompson who rebuilt it from a building she purchased in Cowes and had shipped over to Grantville.

In the late 1880s and continuing until 1914, the paddocks at the back of the Hotel were used for the local horse race meetings. Folk lore identifies those same paddocks to be where dog races were also conducted and, for some years, the back paddocks were also the sale yards. A colourful history indeed.

Image of Grantville Hotel


Unfortunately, the Hotel burnt down in 1929 and was never rebuilt. One can speculate that the Great Depression and World War 2 contributed to the failure to rebuild. By the 1950’s Granville possibly could not support a hotel and development has since bypassed Grantville.

Since 1929 the people of Grantville and surrounds have lived without a local supply of everyday provisions, a social meeting place or many other goods and services that would be considered essential in any area of this size.

In 2003 the Council commissioned work on a new local structure plan for the area. Following the announcement of the new structure plan in 2005 the owner engaged GHD, who had worked with Council to develop the structure plan, to work on a suitable plan for this Site.

 

1.3 The Application

Katelea Pastoral Pty Ltd, the owner of the Site, purchased the Site in 2002 to develop the land. It recognises the importance that the Sites’ central location plays in the continuing / ongoing development of the town centre. The owner also understands the need within the community for vital services in the town centre.

The owner has held the land awaiting the Bass Coast Coastal Planning Framework. Following the Council’s adoption of this Strategy, it now proposes a supermarket, retail shops, a tavern, fuel station and a residential component to provide a mixed-use development. This would further integrate existing community needs with the existing physical environment of the Grantville town centre.

This document supports the Application for Planning Permit for mixed-use development (commercial and residential) on the Site. The Site is currently located within the Residential Zone (R1Z): this zone prohibits some uses proposed in the prospective development. An amendment to the Bass Coast Planning Scheme is therefore proposed. The Amendment is consistent with the structure plan for Grantville, as outlined in the Bass Coast Coastal Framework.

Section 96A, Division 5 in Part 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (the Act) provides for a combined amendment and permit process.

The Amendment is to be undertaken concurrently with the Planning Permit Approval process as follows:

  • Planning Scheme Amendment, involving:
  • Application for a Planning Permit, involving:

    • This planning report is supported by the following documentation:

     

    1.4 Applicant

    Table 1 outlines the applicant details.

    Table 1 Applicant Details

    Applicant Katelea Pastoral Pty Ltd
    Address c/o Level 2, 124 Exhibition Street
    Melbourne VIC 3000
    Contact Alan McDonald
    (D) 03 9650 4555, (F) 03 9650 8286