Under pressure

By Tania Martin
MT EVELYN residents say they have been short-changed by a multi-national conglomerate after being given just 10 days to object to plans for a Safeway Supermarket.
This comes as Woolworths Limited last week released its amended plans for the supermarket just in time for its March deadline.
In October last year VCAT granted Woolworths an adjournment on an appeal to overturn the Shire of Yarra Ranges decision to refuse the application for a supermarket on the corner of Snowball Avenue and Station Street.
VCAT also ruled that Woolworths must release any amended plans before March to give people enough time to object before the start of the hearing on 25 March.
Mt Evelyn Environment Protection and Progress Association (MEEPA) vice-president, Clare Worsnop has questioned the validity of the period Woolworths has given residents to object.
According to Ms Worsnop, at the October VCAT hearing, it was ruled that townspeople would have 30 days to submit any objections to the amended plans.
Ms Worsnop said she is now investigating why residents had not been given the 30-day period as ruled by VCAT.
“We have called VCAT and are waiting on an answer as to why we were only given 10 days to object,” she said.
“But in the meantime we are putting in our original objections as they stand and putting a notice that we reserve our rights to add more when the situation is clarified.”
Ms Worsnop said the people of Mt Evelyn were now unsure about the deadline for submissions.
“It’ all very confusing and now people will believe they won’t have enough time to put in their objections,” she said. Shire of Yarra Ranges mayor Tim Heenan said the council had its legal team looking into why the residents were given such little time to object.
“It’s insulting to the local community and is typical of big business trying to ride rough shot over the local community,” he said.
“Woolworths is now putting the pressure on residents but the Mt Evelyn community is not going to bend over for anyone.”
MEEPA president Franc Smith is now urging residents to not waste any time and put in their objections.
He said the plans are now available from the town’s library or from the shire offices in Lilydale.
Mr Smith said current objectors and anyone who wants to join the action only have eight days to object which was going to make difficult for most people to have their say.
He said residents would continue to fight against the proposed development despite being ‘short-changed’ with the objection deadline.
Mt Evelyn residents have been fighting against the proposed development since 2003 when the land on the corner of Snowball Avenue and Station Street was rezoned from residential to business.
The fight will now continue as residents’ battle for the final refusal of the development.
But residents now only have until Tuesday 19 February to submit their objections to the amended plans to either Woolworths or VCAT.
Mr Smith said in many respects the amended plans were worse than the original.
“It’s larger than the original – it’s just going to be horrendous,” he said.
“If this goes ahead it will take over Mt Evelyn and it will be a blight on our town.”
People are now being urged to look at the plans and put in their objections before it’s too late.