Council ‘blamed’ for gym failure

By Michelle Herbison
COUNCIL’S failure to address amenity issues is to blame for a 24-hour gym in Belmont failing to win planning approval, according to a state tribunal.
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal upheld an appeal against council approvals for a Jetts gym adjacent to an existing Fenix Fitness centre on High St.
The Jetts proponent wanted to operate the gym in an existing building with after-hours swipe-card access but without music or fitness classes.
Tribunal member Tracey Bilston-McGillen said the gym’s plans provided inadequate information on building works and proximity to homes.
The plans failed to document that residential dwellings adjoining the site had bedroom windows within a couple of metres of the boundary, she said.
“In my opinion, the level of information submitted is inadequate and fails to provide the most basic of application information.”
Ms Bilston-McGillen said council was “at fault” for failing to state in a public notice that the gym would run 24 hours.
“Amenity concerns” might affect objecting businesses nearby, she said.
But Ms Bilston-McGillen said making decisions relating to objectors’ concerns was unnecessary because she had rejected the application on grounds of unsatisfactory planning information.
“I have not pre-empted any future decision, as the question of amenity has not been addressed by the permit applicant and fails for that reason.”