By Peter Douglas
The Yarra Ranges community now has the chance to have its say on the proposed $28 million redevelopment of its council’s offices.
With advertising starting, written submissions to council are being sought regarding the upcoming Lilydale Civic Centre planning application.
The redevelopment proposal came after an extensive feasibility study conducted in 2015.
The then-council endorsed the study after plans to relocate to the former Swinburne site in Lilydale fell over.
The proposal aims to address the identified deficiencies of the building including an outdated design, a lack of disability access and an energy inefficient set-up due to a “patchwork” of buildings being used.
The infrastructure has been described as being from “the beginning of time”, with ongoing issues including termite and water damage.
Yarra Ranges chief executive officer, Glenn Patterson, has described the building as “sub-standard” and said a redeveloped civic centre would allow the council to meet its current and future needs.
“The project will provide the opportunity to consolidate all employees on one site, removing the need for an externally leased premises,” Mr Patterson said when the feasibility study won council support in mid-2015.
For ratepayers to view the proposal, they first need to visit council’s ePlanning service at https://eplanning.yarraranges.vic.gov.au.
After selecting the ‘Property’ search field – and searching for ‘15 Anderson Street, Lilydale’ – residents can view the documents and follow prompts to make a submission.
Submissions are only permitted during the advertising period, which started on Thursday 26 October and finishes on Tuesday 21 November.
After the advertising period finishes, council will evaluate the submissions before making a final decision on the application at a future council meeting.
Earlier this year, council embarked on an extensive six-week community consultation process for the public space component of the Civic Centre Redevelopment.
Yarra Ranges Council said more than 1600 people gave face-to-face feedback.
To view the application directly, visit https://goo.gl/3UDYkj (case sensitive).
