By DANIELLE GALVIN
KOOWEERUP is set to tap into the boutique beer market.
Cardinia Shire Council’s Manager Development and Compliance Services Brett Jackson said the council has received a planning application for a micro-brewery in town, to house up to 450 patrons and twelve retail tenancies.
“We are currently working through the application and it will likely be presented at a council meeting in a few months,” he said.
“As there are still a number of matters to be resolved, council officers are yet to make a recommendation.”
The micro-brewery is planned for the former printing works, the PMP site, on Station Street.
In 2011, former councillor Stuart Halligan told the Gazette the council wanted the property sold off after it had sat idle for years.
“We don’t really want it to be an industrial eyesore in the middle of town,” he said.
At a Kooweerup Township Committee meeting at the time, Mr Halligan said that whatever the site was used for would need to complement Cochrane Park.
“It could become a really attractive part of town,” he said.
President of the Township Committee Gavin Brock’s said the committee was very supportive of the development of the site.
“This large site in the middle of town currently detracts from appearance of the town and development will bring some life back to the Rossiter Road end of town,” he said.
“A micro-brewery has the potential to become a destination that will bring people to Kooweerup but it needs to be developed and managed in a way that enhances the town and does not interfere with the ability of residents to enjoy their town.”
Secretary of the committee Geoff Stoke said the project would be a good drawcard for the town.
“As I understand it, the plan also includes shops and residential premises and I see this as the beginnings of a central hub for the town, a focal point right in the middle of our existing ‘L’ shaped shopping area,” he said.
“It will encourage people travelling along the new Kooweerup bypass to stop over, have a look, a meal, and a rest in the town before moving on.
“Planned properly and built with architecture that complements its surroundings, I see the project as an exciting asset for the town.”
