VCAT reject appeal for 172-home land lease community in Kyneton

Viva Lifestyle Villages, registered as a company on 18 January 2019, took its rejected development application to create a 172-home land lease community straight to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). 

Its approach failed, with VCAT tribunal members stating the proposed VivaLife lifestyle village just outside the town of Kyneton, in the Macedon Ranges, 87km northwest of Melbourne, would go against both shire and state government planning guidelines for housing. 

VCAT members Sarah McDonald and Nick Wimbush shared concerns the lifestyle village would not act solely for over-50s and instead would operate as a standard residential village. 

"In many ways the site superficially appears attractive for the proposed use," they said. 

"There are many issues such as environmental impact, infrastructure servicing, and traffic which - if not positive in the policy balancing exercise - are at least neutral. 

"To focus on these issues however would be to turn away from the extensive and comprehensive settlement planning that has been undertaken by council and the state government in the shire in recent years." 

The proposal was to build one-, two- and three-bedroom homes with communal amenities and on-site car parking on 12ha of land.