PLANS for 68 warehouses and 14 storage units have been given the green light for development in Hastings despite some fears over traffic problems and lack of parking.
Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors endorsed the proposed development at 2153 Frankston-Flinders Rd in Hastings, which would see an existing caravan storage site converted into warehouses and rear storage units at the 12,810sq metre site.
The warehouses, abutting Frankston-Flinders Rd, would be 7.5 metres high, while the rear section would have a mix of warehouses and three storey storage units of a maximum height of 14.15 metres, primarily abutting the Stony Point rail line. A total of 137 car spaces are proposed while a five-metre-high by two-metre-wide pylon sign would also be installed. The site is located near residential properties just under 30 metres away including at Kurrajong St, Martin St, and Railway Cres.
A council officer recommended the proposed development be approved subject to various conditions, noting it “raised no concerns” with a shortfall of 92 car parking spaces and that there were no “unacceptable amenity impacts”.
The proposal was debated by councillors at their 11 March meeting, which was approved in a 7-3 vote.
Among those dissenting was Cr David Gill, who raised concerns of storm water drainage, a “huge sign” and parking issues. “Voting for a development of this nature is not improving Hastings. It’s not doing much for the people of Hastings,” he said. “The issues that will come back to bite probably are drainage, which may well cost the ratepayers a lot of money.” In relation to parking, he said if things changed and it “becomes a development that has a great need for parking, then there will be lots of issues for us to sort out”. Gill also opposed the large business sign, arguing “I think we should find a way to limit huge signs that start to go up; we never thought that would happen in our municipality like it’s happened”.
Mayor Cr Anthony Marsh agreed with most points Gill raised, saying the “parking waiver” was “a problem that we never seem to fully address”. “There’s plenty of industrial land around there and other factories, but not of that density,” he said, adding he feared a nearby service road would become “full of parked cars”. Marsh also raised serious concern about traffic on Reid Pde, particularly with vehicles turning right onto Frankston-Flinders Rd, which was “already a nightmare”, and “I just don’t see this dealing with that adequately”. “Again, I think we look at traffic surveys, but they’re often from the person trying to develop the land, and that’s something I’ve always had an issue with.”
But Cr Kate Roper, who voted in favour of the proposal, said while “we all agree there’s not enough parking spaces here”, “the comfort for me, I guess is that with the storage units, I’m assuming people aren’t going to be parked outside the storage unit constantly”. “There’s large businesses all along that section of the road and I think it’s fairly appropriate for this area,” she said. Roper also highlighted the “jobs that this brings” as she felt assured that storage was a “blossoming business all around the country”.
Cr Michael Stephens said while storm water drainage was a “major” issue including at sites along the same stretch of road, “it’s not a reason to stop this proposal”. “Obviously there’s people who are wanting to put up a development to satisfy market needs,” he said.
Two public objections were received about visual bulk to residential homes and noise concerns.
Gill put forward an alternative motion seeking that the building coverage should not exceed the 50 per cent the overlay allows for, that the building height does not exceed nine metres, and parking increased between 50 and 92 spaces – but this was lost in the councillor vote.
First pubslished in the Western Port News – 18 March 2025
