NEWS DESK
Shire says hotel aiming too high Neil Walker neil@mpnews.com.au COUNCILLORS’ concerns over changes to Sorrento’s skyline means a $50 million plan to redevelop the Continental Hotel will be considered at a three-day VCAT hearing in January. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal will deliberate on an application by new hotel owners to refurbish the four-storey hotel, which is heritage listed, and build a residential apartment complex including a wellness centre to the south of the main hotel building. The proposed height of the apartment building, to include a rooftop garden and terrace, was deemed to be too
high by councillors at a public council meeting last Monday (12 December), since it could threaten to overshadow the hotel’s iconic clock tower. The apartment building’s height would align with the guttering on the adjacent clock tower. Council in July approved a planning permit to build a 37.05-metre apartment complex but the consortium which bought the Continental Hotel, for a figure believed to be about $15 million, now wants to add about two metres in height to the proposed building. Lloyd Elliott, of town planners Urbis, speaking on behalf of developer Julian Gerner, told the council meeting that Heritage Victoria had approved the original plan to revamp the hotel.
Mr Elliott argued a mediated outcome had been agreed with objectors to the apartment building to be constructed on carpark land being sold by the shire to the consortium, and the project would be commercially unviable if the height of the apartment building is lowered. “We shrunk the roof terrace by approximately two-thirds – over 50 per cent – it’s quite a significant reduction, it’s now 241 square metres,” he said. “The only structure that you’ll see above there will be the glazed balustrade and a glazed box for the staircase to come out. We say they’re quite simple and appropriate developments on top of the site.” Mr Elliott said the developer had
“engaged” with the community over its redevelopment plans. “[This] puts forward a better design outcome than when council first considered and supported this application.” Mr Gerner was also at the meeting to answer questions from councillors. Cr Hugh Fraser said apartments would be visible from Ocean Beach Rd. “Council has a policy in relation to views from Ocean Beach Rd. Any development occurring should not be visible from Ocean Beach Rd, above the roofline of these buildings.” Council officers said there was “adequate setback” so the apartment building would seem to be lower than the peak of the Continental Hotel.
Speed check app for Link drivers Stephen Taylor steve@mpnews.com.au CONTROVERSY over a slew of speeding fines on Peninsula Link may have been avoided if motorists had been able to use Julian Varricchio’s latest innovation. The 24-year-old from Dromana has developed a free phone app that constantly displays and records a driver’s real-time speed – especially useful in point-to-point calculations, such as on freeways. The data can be used to determine an average speed and then be exported and possibly used as evidence to fight speeding infringements using what Mr Varricchio believes is incontrovertible data. “The end goal is that drivers will be recording all their trips and providing themselves with accurate data on their driving,” he said. Superintendent Glenn Weir, divisional commander of Southern Metro, which covers Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula, doubts the app’s potential abilities. “It sounds like a gimmick to me,” he said. “It might be a genius idea, but it has no scientific basis. It’s like those breathalysers you have at home – not worth the trouble.” However, the data would have been useful for the 60 drivers fined in October for travelling at 108kph in the same section of Peninsula Link. On Friday, the drivers were issued notices to say although police believed offences had been committed no further action would be taken
Mr Gerner said the residential development “is financing the restoration and retention of the Continental Hotel”. The proposed four-storey apartment building will contain 16 homes with a communal rooftop area, a gym, cafe, change rooms, offices and a terrace with a swimming pool. A two-level basement car park will include 58 spaces and a public carpark will offer 25 spaces. Councillors voted against the apartment building plan so a full VCAT appeal by the applicants will be held on 20 January next year. The Nepean Historical Society and Nepean Conservation Group may lodge objections to VCAT.
Remand over assault A MCCRAE woman suffered serious injuries during an altercation with a man at their home, early morning Wednesday 14 December. Detective Senior Sergeant Miro Majstorovic, of Mornington Peninsula CIU, said the 43-year-old was taken to The Alfred hospital after the incident at the house they shared at Bentley Rd. She was placed in an induced coma suffering serious facial and skull fractures. Police will allege the man, 32, assaulted the woman, around 5.306.30am, but the circumstances are yet to be determined. The man appeared at Frankston Magistrates’ Court, Wednesday, and the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, Thursday, for a filing hearing.
Couple flee house Up to speed: Julian Varricchio’s phone app aims to give motorists the edge in speeding disputes. Picture: Yanni
against them at this stage. The drivers have suggested that point-to-point cameras on the freeway are faulty, with many claiming they always use cruise control, making it unlikely they averaged 108kph in the alleged timeframe of three minutes six seconds. “I became sick of hearing that there was no way to prove that [those] drivers weren’t speeding, as the cameras are presumed to be correct,” Mr Var-
ricchio said. “I’ve been working hard these past few months to have an app developed that will help provide data that proves the average speed the drivers were doing.” The app: Fine Mate – Speedometer is suitable only for iPhones at present, but will be made suitable for androids soon, he hopes. It works by tapping into the core location service of the phone. “We are aiming for the broader market in
future but, at the moment it just suits users of Peninsula Link.” Mr Varricchio said the main issue when discussing speed cameras on Peninsula Link is that there was not enough consistent evidence and data. “I’m hoping that my app can provide a low cost solution to the public, especially on the Mornington Peninsula, and generate enough data and results that they can be used effectively,” he said.
A SAFETY Beach man and his female friend fled their home when a group of men forced their way inside, 7am, Wednesday 14 December. The 32-year-old said the men broke down the door of the Country Club Drive house and smashed up the furniture. Nothing was stolen in the raid and no descriptions of the men are available.
Sub-par break-in OFFENDERS broke into a storage shed at the Flinders Golf Club, Bass St, overnight Wednesday 14 December. They used a sharp implement to force open the door to the shed, which was full of greenkeeping equipment, and damaged greens and fairways. It was not known what was stolen, Thursday.
Southern Peninsula News 20 December 2016
PAGE 3