Ballarat council spend more than $200,000 on planning VCAT appeals

The council reported $208,641 in costs relating to planning, regulation and governance matters in Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in 2022/23.

Similar to Ballarat's municipality size, Greater Bendigo spent $87,000 in 2021. In January 2023, it was reported Bendigo Council often spend approximately $200,000 annually.

In 2022/23, Bendigo had 20 appeals lodged.

Greater Geelong faced 46 VCAT hearings in the past financial year, out of 1558 applications received.

For Ballarat in 2022/23, 13 appeals were lodged and 12 decisions were handed down - this was out of the 879 applications for planning permits, 888 determinations and 785 permits issued.

Most VCAT decisions upheld the council's decision with varied conditions (six), the rest were either set aside or withdrawn.

RMIT Centre for Urban Research Professor Andrew Butt said Ballarat was on par with the rest of the state when it came to frequency of appeals.

He said appeals tend to fluctuate with property investment.

"Certainly before COVID they were running up and then they fluctuated down, now they seem to be going up," Mr Butt said.

One council decision which was overturned in August 2022 was the Invermay Miller Road Dollar Bill Brewing's planning permit.

It was first denied for a planning permit in December 2021, which the owners said was council listening to the "vocal minority".

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Another example over a decision being overturned was a Delacombe subdivision. It was denied by the council in 2022 over issues around traffic and amenity, however it was ruled the area was in an area "designated for urban renewal", according to the VCAT decision.

Mr Butt said a trend was applicant appealing conditions placed on their approved permits.

"They are spending a lot of money to do that," he said.

"If an applicant has applied for a six-storey build and they get given five-stories; there's been a game being played between council and the applicant where a middle ground is likely.

"That's the nature of a red-hot property market."

Mr Butt said applicants will also appeal over "costly conditions".

Municipality Association Victoria president David Clark said there was a reason the system was structured this way.

"The advantage of having an elected group of people is they have a broader remit in the context of that they are trying to do," he said.

"It's critical that councils do use the [planning scheme] rules as the basis of what they do."

Mr Clark said the councillors have a better grasp on their community than a state body and need to work with their planning scheme even if it ends up at VCAT.

"The fact that councils can exercise judgment is really important but it's got to be clear they're doing it for the right reasons," he said.

"The right reasons are for better planning outcomes and not to satisfy a group of cranky citizens."

Mr Butt said when it comes to the emotion of planning in communities, it was where VCAT could make "tough decisions."

"Appeals and objective rights have been a feature of our planning system for 70 years in Victoria," he said.

"In many instances, clear strategic work and community involvement in that work might also be more sensible than having the debate each time there is a planning application."

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