LESS than 3per cent of Wyndham Council’s decisions about planning permits were challenged in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in 2010-11, a report has shown.
The Planning Department’s latest permit activity report reveals Wyndham received 1178 applications for planning permits between July 2010 and June 2011.
Just 34 of the permits were the subject of a review at the VCAT. In 2009-10, 2per cent of the council’s decisions were challenged at the tribunal.
Wyndham’s statistics are similar to other growth areas councils, with 3per cent of decisions made by Hume Council and 4per cent of Melton Council’s decisions challenged at the VCAT.
Tarneit resident Samantha Jobe, who recently urged councillors to knock back an application for three double-storey townhouses on a block next to her house, said she was happy with the council’s decision-making.
In January, Ms Jobe asked councillors to reject the development because of noise and privacy concerns.
After visiting the site, councillors agreed to knock back the proposal. Their decision went against a recommendation from the council’s planning department that the development be approved.
Ms Jobe has since had another win, with the developer agreeing to put two single-storey houses on the site.
“I am very grateful to the councillors for making the decision. I was prepared to go to VCAT but I have been told VCAT doesn’t knock anything back,” she said.
“I’m sure it would have been approved if it had gone to VCAT.”
The Planning Department report also revealed that building activity in Wyndham is still on the rise, with the council receiving 1178 applications for planning permits in the year to June 2011.That figure was up 3.6per cent on the previous year, when 1137 applications were received.
The rise in permit applications has led to the council collecting $623,637 in fees, up from $584,101 in 2009-10.
The report also revealed that the value of building projects in Wyndham grew from $426million in 2009-10 to $476million last year. The average cost of each project also grew by $40,000.
