Greater Shepparton City Council’s statutory planning team leader Braydon Aitken said the plans for an extension to GV Vets in Nixon St were in the initial assessment phase.
Mr Aitken said GV Vets lodged the application a couple of weeks ago to build additional consulting rooms for veterinarians and an additional staff amenity area.
‘‘What we need to clarify with them is how many additional vets because the key assessment will be the impact on car parking,’’ Mr Aitken said.
‘‘The level of car parking which is required on site and also the design of the building and any potential impact on the residential land.’’
Mr Aitken said once the information was clarified council would make a further assessment.
He said the application would be exempt from public notice because the building was inside the activity centre zone, with the aim of the zone to encourage growth and occupancy rates in the central business district.
‘‘It came as a result of the last council plan where people identified that there’s a lot of vacancies in the CBD and not enough activity and council should do more to promote that,’’ Mr Aitken said.
‘‘A zone was created that encourages development in the CBD, while giving exemption from things like public notices, making the planning permit process a bit more straight forward.’’
Notre Dame College could also be getting an upgrade with an application lodged two weeks ago to build a new two-storey building on the corner of Harold and Knight Sts.
Mr Aitken said the ground floor would house offices for the school’s wellbeing department, while the first story would include new home rooms and classrooms for Year 7 and 8 students.
With the building listed as heritage overlay, Mr Aitken said the school would be demolishing a section of the existing building on the corner, while keeping the area with the real heritage significance.
‘‘We’ve been in pre-application meetings with council’s heritage advisers, so we have been working closely together to get a good design outcome for that corner,’’ he said.
‘‘(The school) have informed us there is no additional teachers or students at this stage, it’s just about providing upgraded facilities because they’re quite old.’’
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