A PERMIT for a 40-place childcare centre in Yana Street has been rejected in a
legal challenge through the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
(VCAT).
Swan Hill Rural City Council granted planning approval for the centre
in October last year, despite a range of concerns from other residents and some
councillors.
VCAT member Mary-Anne Taranto concluded that outdoor play areas
would create noise impacts, and subsequent visual impacts from acoustic
fencing.
“…consideration needs to be given to locating outdoor play areas
further away from neighbouring site boundaries, the dwellings themselves and
other sensitive neighbouring areas,” Ms Taranto said.
“This may assist in
limiting the degree of activity and noise impacts and thus the extent of and
need for any acoustic fencing adjacent to both neighbouring residential
properties,” she said.
“Put simply, this is a location where high solid
boundary fencing is not a feature of the area’s character.”
She said a lack
of documentation on proposed acoustic boundary fencing was “problematic”, with
the close proximity of neighbours’ dwellings and outdoor entertaining areas
“particularly important”.
Next-door neighbour Michelle Donnan led the
successful legal challenge on behalf of a number of residents and said her main
concern had always been for pedestrians and cyclists using a cycle path that
crossed in front of the proposed childcare centre.
“We’re not against a
childcare centre, we’re all for it — what we’re against is the location,” Ms
Donnan said.
For more of this story, see Friday’s Guardian (August 9).
