German retail giant Aldi has finally received the go-ahead for a supermarket on Pakenham’s Henry Street, it’s second in the rapidly developing suburb.
Refused a planning permit in February this year, Aldi took the Cardinia Council to VCAT claiming the application had not been dealt with in the required 60-day time limit.
Subsequent negotiations have resulted in a win, of sorts, for both parties.
The item was noted in the agenda at Monday night’s Cardinia Council town planning meeting and passed without comment.
The earlier refusal was due in part to concerns from council’s planners that the supermarket’s blank loading bay wall would front the Henry Street site.
Henry Street is now the key access point from Racecourse Road through to the CBD and is lined with newly built townhouses.
It was feared the supermarket’s loading bay would not fit in with this attractive new face of Pakenham central.
As part of the resolution, Aldi will now place offices and a more visually appealing glass facade along the Henry Street frontage.
Cardinia Council’s infrastructure and environment acting general manager Andrew Barr indicated this week that the process – stretching back to July 2018 – had been drawn out but had come to a satisfactory conclusion.
“The submitted plans proposed a truck loading bay as the dominant feature facing Henry Street,” Mr Barr said.
“This was not supported by the council as it did not provide an attractive and activated frontage, which was reiterated by council officers at a VCAT Compulsory Conference on 15 February 2019. As a resolution was unable to be made at this point in time, and a two-day VCAT hearing was set for early April.
“Following the Compulsory Conference, amended plans were circulated and agreed upon by all parties, which saw the offices (with extensive window glazing) fronting Henry Street, in place of the blank loading bay wall.
“In light of this, a consent order was prepared and lodged with the Tribunal, who consented to issuing an Order to grant a planning permit.
“A planning permit was issued 4 April 2019, which permits the construction of a building and associated works; construction and display of advertising signs, and sale of packaged liquor for the purposes of an Aldi supermarket.”
