'Disheartened' couple critical of Council's DA notification process

Sharon and Robert McBride spoke at Council's Public Forum on Tuesday, July 19, about issues they had with a house built next to their property.

The couple said they weren't notified by the council about the construction, and also said the house was against zoning controls as it was only four metres off the boundary rather than 12.

They also said a staff member at council told them they weren't notified because the project was a "bushfire rebuild", however Council has since confirmed there is no specific policy relating to bushfire rebuilds.

During public forum, Mr McBride said they felt what had happened to them was "so wrong".

"We had no notification at all from council," he said. "We've got two adjoining neighbours we got plans for, but for this one we got nothing.

"We had meetings with the council who said it wasn't significant enough to let us know. When you drive into our property there's this big house just staring us in the face.

"We're really hurt, and if you go out there and have a look, I don't know how this was ever approved. We're the ones who are going to have to pay for this."

Mrs McBride said the situation had left the couple feeling "very uncomfortable".

"We've been planning our forever home for more than five years, and the way we've been treated is disheartening," she said.

"We have to have a mound next to our property which will cover this house.

"We don't want this happening to anyone else."

In a statement, a Council spokesperson told the Bay Post the McBride's weren't notified because council considered the proposed house was "unlikely" to have impacts on adjoining properties.

The spokesperson also said there was no specific policy around the notification process for 'bushfire rebuilds'.

"Council's Community Participation Plan does not require applications for dwelling to be notified to adjoining owners where there is limited impact in terms of view, overshadowing, solar access, privacy, emissions and a number of other items," they said.

"It was considered that while the building was closer to the boundary, it was generally in the same location as the previous dwelling (prior to the fires), and would not impinge on adjoining owners."

Mrs McBride didn't agree with council's consideration, saying she's been asked to change aspects of her property for privacy reasons.

"We're the ones who have been asked to change," she said. "Our en suite looks straight into their alfresco kitchen area. We've been asked to change our windows, but why should we have to?

"The owner of the house told us he would have just moved the house if he'd know we weren't happy, and he didn't know nobody was notified."

The Council spokesperson said a 'bushfire rebuild' was a commitment from council to prioritise the DA.

"Council has received a total of 372 development applications lodged for rebuild from January 1, 2020 to July 22, 2022," they said.

"Of the 372 applications lodged, 318 have been approved with an average turnaround time of 46.71 days."