Bulky shops trimmed

BULKY goods retailers will not be allowed to build near strip shopping precincts under a new policy proposed by Greater Dandenong council this week.
The Bulky Goods Retail Policy will rezone existing stores in industrial areas to business zones while ensuring that future stores must build in locations away from strip retail shopping.
Bulky goods retailers are defined by the City of Greater Dandenong council as shops specialising in goods that can not be taken away from the shop by hand due to their size and weight.
An officer’s report to councillors said that while small-scale shopfronts did not present a planning problem, larger warehouse-style retailers were ‘car-centric’ and posed a competitive threat to strip shopping retailers.
The policy will discourage future bulky goods retailers from opening stores or building homemaker centres too close to more pedestrian friendly shopping precincts.
The council has resolved to amend the Greater Dandenong Planning Scheme, with permission from the Planning Minister Justin Madden to incorporate the policy.
The amendment will be open for public comment once authorised.