MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire has launched legal action against the Peninsula Hot Springs following allegations it was using an overflow carpark that was shut down in December. The spa and wellness centre’s overflow carpark which accommodates 106 staff parking spaces and 348 overflow parking spaces at Devonport Drive in Fingal has been operating since 2018 without a permit.
However, a formal permit application by the hot springs seeking to continue the carpark’s use was knocked back by the council at their 17 December meeting following an uproar from residents and it being “inconsistent” with the “objectives and decision guidelines” of the green wedge zone among other issues. But the council has since become aware of “compliance concerns” regarding the use of the overflow carpark, prompting it to apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) on January 14 for an enforcement order relating to “alleged breaches” of the carpark.
A hearing has yet to be confirmed, but if the order was approved, it seeks that the hot springs’ use of the overflow carpark “cease within 30 days” of the date of the order and to reimburse the council for costs incurred for going to VCAT. But it appeared the Peninsula Hot Springs was unaware of any alleged breaches after issuing a statement to The News saying, “It is important to note that the use of this area has been conducted with the agreement of the Mornington Peninsula Shire while the planning permit was being assessed”.
In response Mayor Anthony Marsh said, “an informal agreement to use the site as an overflow car park was in place last year while the planning permit was being assessed”. “Since council refused the permit application in late December, our officers have been addressing compliance concerns at the site and are working with the operator to stop its use as a car park and remediate the land,” he said in a statement. The council’s application for an enforcement order to VCAT was confirmed via a letter to residents.
Earlier this month Cr Marsh wrote an email to residents noting council officers had contacted the Peninsula Hot Springs by phone and in writing over Christmas to “remind them of their obligations, particularly considering the council’s decisions”.
Resident Elizabeth Stigter, who was among the 66 objectors to the planning application, said residents have been “deeply concerned” about the continued use of the horse paddock as a carpark. She said this was not only because of the “impact a bush fire would have not only on the resident’s safety, but also “for anyone trying to leave the peninsula along Browns Rd,” noting “the additional cars and patrons would make it catastrophic”.
Stigter said the main permit conditions “clearly state the amenity cannot be impacted through light or noise pollution” but she pointed to the Peninsula Hot Springs’ Instagram page which promoted ‘DJ’s are great in the night club but also great out of it’, which she said was “clearly not suitable for a place of peace and tranquillity”. “The refusal to close the car park reflects the Peninsula Hot Springs’ attitude to all planning and EPA rules and regulations, and pollution breaches,” she said.
In opposing the permit application, residents cited concerns of impacts to amenity, increased traffic, noise levels, and disrupting the peaceful character of the area, as well as effects to the green wedge zone.
The Peninsula Hot Springs’ development manager Karl Vaitiekunas addressed councillors at their meeting when the application was rejected. In response to a question about what would not stop the venue from using the overflow carpark in future, he said there was a “process for accountability and we have that at the hot springs”.
In addition to the application not being appropriate within a green wedge zone, the council rejected the permit application because the carpark would not provide “substantial benefits to agriculture on the land and had “the potential to fragment agricultural land and impact the agricultural potential of the subject site”, as well as have amenity impacts to neighbouring properties including noise, light and traffic.
First published in the Mornington News – 21 January 2025
