Bowls club blow in VCAT ruling

Jessica Benton
St Leonards could lose its bowling club after the state’s planning tribunal knocked back plans to enclose the greens with an 80-metre-wide shelter, according to a submission on the proposal.
The clubs’ submission to Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal said the project was “vital” to the future of the bowling club.
The submission warned that the club would “fold” without the six-metre-high enclosure to protect bowlers from the elements.
The club altered initial plans for the enclosure but VCAT ruled the “unattractive” building was inappropriate at the gateway to the town.
The shelter would have created a “negative first impression” of St Leonards, VCAT said.
The VCAT hearing also rejected the club’s argument that enclosing the greens was crucial to its future.
VCAT ruled that the club was not “in danger of collapse and the community would not be faced with its loss”.