Route 66 Custom Car and Bike Roadhouse/Diner
In April, The Route 66 Custom Car and Bike Club Australia, which now be referred to as 'The Club' purchased an old derelict ex service station that is located on the Calder Freeway in Gisborne South. The purposes of purchasing this block was to convert the ex service station into a roadhouse/diner, where club members can come and hang out, show off and talk about their cars. This is really just to help in building our car club community. A place for people, young and old to come and be focused on their passion. The theme is a 60's roadhouse diner. Most people who drive past this building would know that the building is an 'eyesore', an embarrassment to the local area, and to the Macedon Ranges Shire Council (MRSC) through no fault of their own (see the photos below). In addition it is apparent that squatters and trespassers enter this property at night to vandalize and graffiti the property, which adds to the unsightly nature of the block. Hence, The Club thinks that developing the old block is a good idea for a number of reasons:
- It will attract Route 66 Custom Car and Bike Club Australia members, tourists and Melbourne folk to the area.
- The diner will become a safe place where traveling highway commuters can take a moment to stop, have a break, sit back enjoy some hearty food and take in what the Macedon ranges has to offer.
- These members, tourists and Melbourne folk, may wish to visit other attractions/businesses in the MRSC area making a positive contribution to the local economy.
- It will remove the 'eyesore' building and develop one that is attractive and proud for the local area.
- It will assist in keeping the abutting land owned by VicRoads cleaner, because if the building is being used, then people are less likely to dump rubbish there.
- The Roadhouse/Diner will employee local workers giving opportunities to people in the local area.
VicRoads Land and Rubbish
Apart from the building being an eyesore the land that abutted the property which is owned by VicRoads is a dumping ground for people who are too tight to pay the Rubbish Dumping fees at Sunbury. So over the months we have seen the following items being dumped: old mattresses, suitcases, clothing, broken car parts, even a caravan and many many more. There is a sign to say that anyone caught dumping rubbish will receive up to a $10,000 fine. As the area is relatively unmonitored, despite the sign saying that a fine will be issued people are still dumping rubbish in the area. The President even caught a guy in the act dumping rubbish in front of the property - see the photos below.
So the Club called up VicRoads to ask them to clean up their property, and their response was to not do anything about it. We were later explained that this area was a VicRoads stacking ground, meaning that VicRoads will dump road materials such as tar, crushed rock/gravel that they use for building roads. So instead of cleaning up their property as we requested, they decided to dump about 10 large piles of crushed rock in this area. The Club finds this particularly embarrassing for The Club and its members and for the MRSC. This is especially so for MRSC because they have a sign welcoming people into Gisborne/the MRS, and it says they are 'environmentally friendly'. Having rubbish strewn across VicRoads land is not in our opinion 'environmentally friendly,' and we think it reflects badly on the area. So instead of VicRoads cleaning up the site, Club members spent their weekends cleaning it up. It looks clean now but not too sure for how long as those serial rubbish dumpers are surely to return.
So the Club called up VicRoads to ask them to clean up their property, and their response was to not do anything about it. We were later explained that this area was a VicRoads stacking ground, meaning that VicRoads will dump road materials such as tar, crushed rock/gravel that they use for building roads. So instead of cleaning up their property as we requested, they decided to dump about 10 large piles of crushed rock in this area. The Club finds this particularly embarrassing for The Club and its members and for the MRSC. This is especially so for MRSC because they have a sign welcoming people into Gisborne/the MRS, and it says they are 'environmentally friendly'. Having rubbish strewn across VicRoads land is not in our opinion 'environmentally friendly,' and we think it reflects badly on the area. So instead of VicRoads cleaning up the site, Club members spent their weekends cleaning it up. It looks clean now but not too sure for how long as those serial rubbish dumpers are surely to return.
The Plans
To put into effect the conversion of the ex service station into a Roadhouse/Diner club members have put considerable effort into cleaning up the building, ensuring that is structurally safe by building brick walls, cleaning up and removing old and dangerous signs and rubbish, and many other things. The Club have also put plans into council to do the conversion.
VicRoads Blocks Development
Despite meeting with the VicRoads, Senior Statutory Planning Officer and trying to explain our viewpoints they have decided to refuse our application based on a number of issues. See the attached refusal letter.
1. In regards to the first point that some of the proposed development overhangs onto VicRoads land. Whilst we admit this true, this is not our fault (as when the block of land was originally subdivided the ex service station had a slight overhang into the subdivided block) nor was it our intention that the development would overhang onto VicRoads Land. We are happy to cut off the overhang of the building so it does not occupy any of VicRoads land, and therefore we will not be asking VicRoads to sign the application, nor will we need to include a declaration that we have notified the owner about the application.
2. The main jist of the refusal, as we interpret it, is that VicRoads believe that by The Club establishing a Roadhouse/Diner on the property it has "major road safety impacts on vehicular traffic on the Calder Freeway due to the type of commercial development in a rural living zone." As we understand it the only access to this property is from Millett Road, Gisborne South, not the Calder Freeway.
In lay mans terms, The Club interprets this as meaning that if a person drives past the building and sees it they will have an accident because they will try to turn around or pull off quickly from Calder Freeway to enter the property. It is The Club's opinion that VicRoads have not considered alternatives that may assist with road safety, if this proposed development was to go ahead, and this needs to be properly addressed. We believe that there could be a number of measures installed to ensure Vehicular safety on Calder Freeway. We also believe that the way in which the Calder Freeway is currently setup, is unsafe. The reason for this is anyone can pull off the freeway onto the vacant land and cause an accident. People pull off because they want to dump rubbish or have a break, which causes a safety concern. The example of the man dumping his turf off his trailer (see photos above) is an example of an unsafe road practice - he would have had to pull off the freeway to do this, awkwardly with a full load of rubbish.
3. VicRoads states that there are no other commercial development along Calder Freeway in the vicinity of the subject land which lends itself to supporting this development. We believe that VicRoads statement in this regard is problematic, as vicinity as has not been defined, in addition there are plenty of examples commercial developments along Calder Freeway (see photos below), and other Victorian freeways.
1. In regards to the first point that some of the proposed development overhangs onto VicRoads land. Whilst we admit this true, this is not our fault (as when the block of land was originally subdivided the ex service station had a slight overhang into the subdivided block) nor was it our intention that the development would overhang onto VicRoads Land. We are happy to cut off the overhang of the building so it does not occupy any of VicRoads land, and therefore we will not be asking VicRoads to sign the application, nor will we need to include a declaration that we have notified the owner about the application.
2. The main jist of the refusal, as we interpret it, is that VicRoads believe that by The Club establishing a Roadhouse/Diner on the property it has "major road safety impacts on vehicular traffic on the Calder Freeway due to the type of commercial development in a rural living zone." As we understand it the only access to this property is from Millett Road, Gisborne South, not the Calder Freeway.
In lay mans terms, The Club interprets this as meaning that if a person drives past the building and sees it they will have an accident because they will try to turn around or pull off quickly from Calder Freeway to enter the property. It is The Club's opinion that VicRoads have not considered alternatives that may assist with road safety, if this proposed development was to go ahead, and this needs to be properly addressed. We believe that there could be a number of measures installed to ensure Vehicular safety on Calder Freeway. We also believe that the way in which the Calder Freeway is currently setup, is unsafe. The reason for this is anyone can pull off the freeway onto the vacant land and cause an accident. People pull off because they want to dump rubbish or have a break, which causes a safety concern. The example of the man dumping his turf off his trailer (see photos above) is an example of an unsafe road practice - he would have had to pull off the freeway to do this, awkwardly with a full load of rubbish.
3. VicRoads states that there are no other commercial development along Calder Freeway in the vicinity of the subject land which lends itself to supporting this development. We believe that VicRoads statement in this regard is problematic, as vicinity as has not been defined, in addition there are plenty of examples commercial developments along Calder Freeway (see photos below), and other Victorian freeways.
4. VicRoads general concern is "whether the site is suitable for the use or development and whether the proposal is compatible with adjoining and nearby land uses." The site has always been a commercial development since the late 1800s. See the attached history of the property. Over the years, the property has been a part of Gisborne's history. It was a diner until the 1940s, a ceremony was held in 1950 to celebrate power being delivered to the Couangault area, it was later created into a service station, and then abandoned since 1995. Considering that the land has always been used as a commercial enterprise (a hotel, a roadhouse and then a petrol station), then wouldn't this give the piece of land enough precedent to continue the use as a commercial enterprise. In terms of whether the development is compatible with adjoining areas, The Club asks you the following question. Is the form in which it is currently in (i.e. an eyesore) compatible with adjoining and nearby land uses? The Club's answer is no!
5. The next issue that VicRoads have is in regards to "the impact of the siting, design, height, bulk, colours and materials to be used, on the natural environment, major roads, vistas and water features and the measures to be undertaken to minimise any adverse impacts." We don't think that these points have been properly justified or explained, and we hope through the planning process that we are able to address some of these important points.
6. The next point is in regards to "the impact on the character and appearance of the area or features of architectural historic or scientific significance or of natural scenic beauty or importance." We don't think that the proposed development has a major impact on the character and appearance of the local area. We think that the building in its current format does have an unsightly impact on the character and appearance of the area, and the proposed development actually provides a more beneficial impact, then what there currently is.
7. The next issue is in regards to "whether the use or development will require traffic management measures. We addressed this in point 2, and let us re-emphasise that the current way in which the Calder Freeway is currently set up, at Millett Road is quite unsafe, as people can easily pull off the road to dump rubbish in the area.
8. The final point refers to "Plan or regulate new uses or development of land near an existing or proposed transport route to avoid detriment to, and where possible enhance the service, safety and amenity desirable for that transport route in the short and long terms." We believe that if road safety is properly dealt with then the new development would not cause detriment to the service, safety and amenity desirable for the transport route in the short and long terms. As pointed out previously, we believe that the way in which this current area is at the moment is actually unsafe. The fact that cars, trucks, bikes etc can easily turnoff on to the section of land is detrimental and unsafe. Actually putting guards up, foliage and trees would be the safest thing, and will have a positive impact on Vehicular safety. We see the current proposed development as no different to other similar commercial enterprises located along freeways, and therefore believe that there is enough precedence to warrant this development to go ahead.
In summary, we believe that it's important to convert the ex-service station into a roadhouse/diner, we believe it will develop a good connection to the history of the area, and we believe that the proposed development is highly relevant to the community. We plan to fight VicRoads refusal letter, and we hope that you can come join us in our fight to clean up this property for the good of all communities: Route 66 Custom Car and Bike Club, the Macedon Ranges Shire, and people who want to visit this beautiful area!
For any inquiries into these matters please contact The President on 0452 200 221.
5. The next issue that VicRoads have is in regards to "the impact of the siting, design, height, bulk, colours and materials to be used, on the natural environment, major roads, vistas and water features and the measures to be undertaken to minimise any adverse impacts." We don't think that these points have been properly justified or explained, and we hope through the planning process that we are able to address some of these important points.
6. The next point is in regards to "the impact on the character and appearance of the area or features of architectural historic or scientific significance or of natural scenic beauty or importance." We don't think that the proposed development has a major impact on the character and appearance of the local area. We think that the building in its current format does have an unsightly impact on the character and appearance of the area, and the proposed development actually provides a more beneficial impact, then what there currently is.
7. The next issue is in regards to "whether the use or development will require traffic management measures. We addressed this in point 2, and let us re-emphasise that the current way in which the Calder Freeway is currently set up, at Millett Road is quite unsafe, as people can easily pull off the road to dump rubbish in the area.
8. The final point refers to "Plan or regulate new uses or development of land near an existing or proposed transport route to avoid detriment to, and where possible enhance the service, safety and amenity desirable for that transport route in the short and long terms." We believe that if road safety is properly dealt with then the new development would not cause detriment to the service, safety and amenity desirable for the transport route in the short and long terms. As pointed out previously, we believe that the way in which this current area is at the moment is actually unsafe. The fact that cars, trucks, bikes etc can easily turnoff on to the section of land is detrimental and unsafe. Actually putting guards up, foliage and trees would be the safest thing, and will have a positive impact on Vehicular safety. We see the current proposed development as no different to other similar commercial enterprises located along freeways, and therefore believe that there is enough precedence to warrant this development to go ahead.
In summary, we believe that it's important to convert the ex-service station into a roadhouse/diner, we believe it will develop a good connection to the history of the area, and we believe that the proposed development is highly relevant to the community. We plan to fight VicRoads refusal letter, and we hope that you can come join us in our fight to clean up this property for the good of all communities: Route 66 Custom Car and Bike Club, the Macedon Ranges Shire, and people who want to visit this beautiful area!
For any inquiries into these matters please contact The President on 0452 200 221.