More tulip parking

By Russell Bennett
A SILVAN tourist mecca’s expansion plan has attracted debate among Yarra Ranges councillors.
Tesselaar’s iconic tulip farm on Monbulk Road has outgrown its current site and is looking to expand to accommodate more off-street parking.
Third generation manager Paul Tesselaar put forward a proposal at last week’s Yarra Ranges Council meeting to expand the property from 6.2 hectares to 11.1ha by purchasing a neighbouring allotment.
The Tesselaar Tulip Festival is one of the most popular annual tourist attractions in the hills, bringing in more than 55,000 visitors each spring.
“However, those numbers haven’t gone on in leaps and bounds over recent years and I guess the car park is somewhat of a limiting factor,” Mr Tesselaar said.
“We’ve done all sorts of things to try and encourage other modes of transport.
“We even pay for charter buses on the weekends, because there has been insufficient public services to our festival on the weekends.”
Yarra Ranges Council approved the expansion plan but not before Ryrie Ward councillor Jeanette McRae quizzed Mr Tesselaar over his intentions for the new land.
“What proportion of the acquired land will be used for off-street parking?,” she asked.
“None of the purchased land will be,” Mr Tesselaar said.
“We grow crops at the back of the existing car park.
“Those horticultural activities will move over to the new part of the property and then we will expand our existing car park into that space.”
Tesselaar’s put forward an identical proposal for the land acquisition to the council’s planning officers in July, but it was rejected.
Planning officers argued the plan wasn’t supportable under the current planning scheme.
Chandler Ward councillor Graeme Warren and Billanook Ward councillor Tim Heenan supported Tesselaar’s re-submission to the council.
“In our shire, we’ve currently got about 70,000 hectares of land that’s available for agricultural use,” Cr Warren said.
“But there’s under 30,000 hectares actually in productive use.
“I think all levels of government need to work a lot harder to encourage productive farming use, particularly in our shire as we see ourselves as Melbourne’s foodbowl.
“This proposal is a chance for us to support an iconic business like Tesselaar’s, by allowing it to grow.” No formal objectors of Tesselaar’s plan came forward to the council, but Cr McRae and Cr Samantha Dunn refused to support the proposal.
“I certainly enjoy going to Tesselaar’s farm,” Cr McRae said.
“And I certainly enjoy buying tulips from them and seeing the beautiful fields of flowers.
“But we’re talking about some of those fields being destroyed for a car park.
Cr Dunn said: “In relation to this, the purpose of the green wedge zone is to provide and protect land for agriculture.”
“I think carving it up does nothing to protect the land for agriculture.
“I’m very concerned this proposal is before us again.
“I have grave concerns about our planning system that this can be allowed to happen.”