Surf Coast Shire has engaged an expert witness to help present Council’s position on a proposed Bunnings store in Torquay’s West Coast Business Park during a VCAT hearing later this year.

Surf Coast Shire will be holding a special meeting of Council next week to discuss planning controls in the West Coast Business Park.

Mayor, Cr Libby Coker, said the special meeting of Council, to be held on Wednesday 14 April at 6pm, would discuss the clarification of a number of planning issues in the business park.

Surf Coast Shire is exploring uncharted waters with a recent planning application for a complex of four shops in Aireys Inlet requiring a Coastal Hazard Assessment.

Council asked the applicant to complete a Coastal Hazard Assessment for the proposal, which backs on to Painkalac Creek, as a result of guidelines in the Victorian Coastal Strategy.

This strategy and a number of recent VCAT decisions regarding future coastal hazards outside Surf Coast Shire have led Council to seek a Coastal Hazard Assessment on the proposal; a request the proponent has agreed to.

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