Grocon Deals With Controversial Planning Controls
Grocon is understood to have requested a planning scheme amendment for the former Carlton United Brewery site on Swanston Street, which would allow Planning Minister Justin Madden to make a decision about the site’s future, without any requirement to exhibit the plans to the community.
Earlier in the week, the Melbourne City Council said the proposed project should undergo a full public process, including independent review, before any decision was made about the site’s future.
By the end of the week however, the MCC conceded that, due to a special zoning passed in the 1990s, the Department of Planning and Development will make the ultimate decision.
A spokeswoman for the council said a planning decision for the site is expected within weeks.
Grocon bought the development site off the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology for $39 million in October last year. It is planning to build six high rise buildings split by laneways, similar to its QV development in Lonsdale Street.
