![The proposed motel will share a boundary with several neighbours who are concerned about the impact it will have on them. The current view from one property. Picture: supplied. The proposed motel will share a boundary with several neighbours who are concerned about the impact it will have on them. The current view from one property. Picture: supplied.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/C5T5utnEbuCCVHhsQW5GNd/65622484-ff1e-41dc-993d-7a7c5eb885d7.jpg/r0_0_4032_2939_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Residents have voiced concerns over a proposed two-storey residential hotel on Main Street, Great Western.
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According to the planning proposal, the hotel, once constructed, would be two stories tall with a total of 59 single rooms, with an underground car park, and will also contain a reception, retail space, café, toilets with café, roof terrace, commercial kitchen, and storage areas.
The reception building and café extension will be built to the Cubitt Street frontage.
The proposed retail space will also be built to the Cubitt Street boundary.
However, residents next door to the proposed site on Brunel Street said they had several concerns over the planning application, including the bulk and scale of the hotel.
Katrina Toomey, whose mother lives next door to the proposed development said the site was not appropriate for the size of the block and location.
"My mum returned to Great Western about five years ago in hopes of retiring peacefully in a lovely little town, but she learned that this will be built next to her without any sort of discussion from the applicant," she said.
"Mum will be looking at the two-storey wall of drains from bathrooms, and toilets and bathroom windows. She is not overly happy about that."
Ms Toomey said there were several concerns over the proposal.
"The shade study was done on one day of the day in September, so it didn't show the full shadow potential," she said.
"Mum's yard is likely to be half covered in shade most of the day, at different times of the year.
"There's also the white light from all the bathrooms that will be coming into Mum's property, and there is nothing to stop that from happening.
"But the biggest concern of all is the fact that they're building an underground carpark. I don't know how they're going to do it because it could cause some problems on Mum's side of the property. There is no geological survey or risk assessment study that we have access to showing that Mum's property and vegetation will not be impacted."
Ms Toomey said several neighbours were concerned about how the proposed motel was going to impact them.
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Another neighbour, Mark Knights also shared his concerns.
"This proposal has certainly generated a great deal of angst within our community," he said.
"The proposed use and development do not respect the neighbourhood character of the area.
"The proposal for 59 motel rooms is not in keeping with the township and is an overdevelopment of the site.
"Overall, the proposed use and development does not comply with the planning scheme and does not take into account the vision for the Great Western Future."
Ms Toomey said she and her mum weren't against the development.
"It's the scale and the location. It's quite upsetting and very offensive to the neighbourhood," she said.
"We're not against progress, and we're not against development. We would love to see some nice high-end accommodation in town.
"I guess my mum's biggest concern is what she's going to be looking at and living next door to every day and how it impacts her."
A Northern Grampians Shire Council spokesperson said residents were informed of the development application.
"The application was widely advertised to the landowners and occupiers of Great Western through letters, public notification in the Stawell Newspaper and three signs put up on the application site," they said.
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"The council staff are currently awaiting the response from the applicant to the objections received after which next steps will be determined.
"Due to the number of objections received, the application will be referred to the council for a decision."
The council spokesperson said the option of holding a consultation meeting with objectors and the applicant was currently being worked through.
"Details will be finalised in this regard once the applicant has had an opportunity to work through the objections and responds to the council."
Bruce Ahchow was contacted for comment.
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