A proposal for a glamping development at the end of Charlies Rd, Elevated Plains, appears to have been abandoned after a four year fight in Hepburn Shire Council and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
VCAT recently approved a planning permit for the site after protracted hearings but put a list of conditions on the development which might have substantially reduced the commercial viability of the project.
Council first considered a planning application by Hilltop@Hepburn for the development in June, 2020. The proposal was for tourist accommodation, with safari tents and yurts on a site of around 8 hectares. The land was zoned as a Farming Zone and had bushfire and environmental significance overlays.
Although council officers at the time recommended approval of the project, Councillors refused the application on the grounds that it was inappropriate use of land zoned for farming, there was a high fire risk and poor access along Charlies Rd. The Council decision was later supported by VCAT.
The developer resubmitted the application with a new draft Bushfire Emergency Management Plan which was approved by the CFA but Council again overruled council officers and refused the application.
The application returned to VCAT in June 2022. There were extensive hearings, some relating to the right of third parties to raise objections on the basis of bushfire risk. The costs of fighting the case would have been very high with 19 days of VCAT hearings dedicated to the case.
VCAT eventually set aside the Council decision and approved a planning permit in June 2024. The permit included strict conditions to mitigate fire risk including a requirement for a Shelter In Place (SIP) construction built to a BAL-29 standard rather than the previously proposed underground bunker, the exclusion of children as guests and a provision that the site be closed on any day with a Fire Danger Rating of High, Extreme or Catastrophic in place or on any day of Total Fire Ban.
The requirement that the site be closed on fire risk days meant that the site would not be able to open for most of the summer period and may have made any bookings subject to cancellation at short notice.
The 20 acre site is fully fenced and bordered by a creek. Power and a domestic bore are already installed and a septic permit will be conferred with the dwelling permit. The land is designated as a Farming Zone in the Hepburn Planning Scheme. The land is subject to a Bushfire Management Overlay and an Environmental Significance Overlay.
The property is now for sale through JellisCraig with an advertise price range of $1.6-$1.7 million. According to Domain.com, the property was sold through Belle Property Daylesford for $515,000 in February 2020.
