Opponents to a $9-million Princetown resort development are taking their fight to the state’s top planning body.
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The Princetown Wetlands and Estuary Preservation Group has lodged an appeal with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) in a bid to overturn the planning permit granted by Corangamite Shire in December.
Group secretary Mara Pacers said it was determined to “make sure due process is followed”.
“We feel that the council planning process wasn’t thorough enough. There wasn’t enough information to make a proper assessment and not enough weight was given to the concerns of referring agencies,” she said.
A hearing date has yet to be set. Ms Pacers said a community fund-raising campaign was now under way to fund the case.
The Princetown Wetlands and Estuary Preservation Group is an incorporated not-for-profit established following a merger of Not On Princetown Estuary and Friends of the Gellibrand River Estuary Wetland.
“The purpose is to ensure that any development in the Princetown wetlands and estuary area is sustainable,” Ms Pacers said.
She said it was important development did not degrade the ecological value of the site or spoil the amenity of the area for the local community.
Corangamite Shire councillors voted 4-3 to approve the resort, which includes a 20-room lodge, 20 cabins, 300-seat restaurant, car parking, boat shed, and viewing structure.
Speaking at the December council meeting, the man behind the project, Montarosa director Gavin Ronan, said he and wife Dana were determined to combine the resort with improving and protecting the wetlands and Gellibrand River.
“We have done the hard work to show our property can sustain this development, within the planning scheme and to the satisfaction of all referral agencies,” he said.
Some tourism figures in the region have also praised the project as an opportunity to expand the tourism offering on the Great Ocean Road.
