By Casey Neill
Yarra Ranges Councillors are vowing to cut red tape that closed a homeless housing project this winter.
Councillor Len Cox told the Tuesday 27 August council meeting that he didn’t want Stable One’s Winter Shelter to hit any stumbling blocks next year.
Stable One partnered with churches to provide temporary accommodation since winter 2017.
But the council shut the project a week early, on 20 August, following advice from the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) that the churches needed temporary occupancy permits.
“I want to make sure that the arrangements are sorted out properly between now and next June so that they can do it and there won’t be an issue,” Cr Cox said.
“The issue is do they need a permit to do it? What should that permit be?
“There is nothing but confusion about it.
“I want to impress on council and staff that it needs to get sorted before next winter comes around because the churches will most certainly want to do it again.
“I would like to get a report from staff as to how it can occur next year without this situation.”
Mayor Tony Stevenson told the meeting that the council wrote to the State Government in May but didn’t receive any support.
In a statement on 23 August, the council said that Planning Minister Richard Wynne had in response confirmed that any organisation wishing to accommodate – temporarily or permanently – needed to hold the relevant occupancy permits.
“We are caught in a difficult position between the VBA and Stable One,” Cr Stevenson said.
