THE Seymour Structure Plan’s legacy was put to practice at Mitchell Shire Council’s (MSC) August meeting, which centred around the application for the use and development of the land for a physiotherapy medical centre at 126 Wimble Street, Seymour.
Councillor Ned Jeffrey proposed an amendment to the original application with no conditions attached.
“We are tired of being abandoned, shut down and used as a dumping ground for social issues. We will pick up that Seymour Structure Plan and progress it with the same vigour and passion as we should do with other townships around this Shire,” he said.
Councillor Nathan Clark was one of the first to speak up against the amendment, saying there needed to be consideration for ‘the right thing at the right place’ while also acknowledging the need to update the Structure Plan.
“While I respect the business and certainly want to see growth and economic activity, I think it’s a case of right thing at the right place,” he said.
“I agree that the structure plan needs updating… but I fear we are putting the cart before the horse here and doing things backwards.”
With the right of rebuttal, Cr Jeffrey pleaded for reconsideration.
“We have said we would lay out the red carpet, and I’d like you all to consider how long that red carpet is,” he said.
“Are we going to approve businesses with heavy conditions and heavy requirements and massive costs for small business or are we expecting that we’re going to just fix decades of errors and lack of commitment and lack of progress just as much by Council as it is by the individuals that have occupied these sites.
“What has Council done in the last seven years to reinvigorate that precinct? Zero. And now you’re expecting one small business to come in and fix all those decades of neglect in one movement.
The amendment was put to a vote, but was defeated, with all but Cr Jeffrey voting against it.
A second amendment was then made, which included some modifications and conditions of the permit, which included a 1.5m footpath along the length of the frontage of the site, accessible car park spaces, appropriate lighting and landscaping widths.
Cr Jeffrey asked Council to consider the impact if this was not the substantive motion.
“I understand that the willingness to divert too far from a precedent that we will set is limited, and there is quite an extensive list of conditions here that will be placed upon the applicant if they wish to continue their business in Seymour,” he said.
“We have to start somewhere, but we can’t start with a fully-fledged list of demands. So, this is what I would call middle-ground.”
This was an amendment that won more support from fellow councillors, with Councillor Riley Evans speaking up for the motion.
“This hits the middle spot, I think the original motion was for no conditions applied. Everything here is quite reasonable,” he said.
Cr Clark agreed, saying he was more on the fence than the previous amendment.
“Again, it’s not in the right place, but at the same time, we’re talking about Seymour’s future, and we cannot claim to be planning for the next 20 years and block the industries we know that are replacing manufacturing as identified in the Structure Plan,” he said.
MSC Mayor Councillor John Dougall also had his say on the matter.
“Fundamentally, I support the intent, the desire to demonstrate to the business community in Seymour that we need to make it easier for you to operate,” he said.
“There’s been little progress made toward preparing, planning for and delivering an outcome that would lead to the increase in service-based industries in Seymour as opposed to a manufacturing baseline.
“That extends back to the 2018 period when the plan was approved with all the right intentions. I have no doubt the way ahead had been well thought through… but there hasn’t been progress.”
Cr Jeffrey had the final right of reply.
“This is now the centre of Seymour, there won’t ever be an industrial application again. We have had industrial applications for this precinct, and they’ve been denied. We have residents in the industrial area living in industrial zone land. It is nothing like the other treatments that we see across the Shire,” he said.
“You slam the door on this one example, you may as well slam the door on all of Mitchell Shire.”
The amendment was carried, with a vote of 6-3.