VCAT Knocks Back Council Haircut on Fitzroy Apartment Block

Of the apartments, 25 will be two-bedroom and seven will be three-bedroom units.

The Pandolfini Architects-designed project will also include parking for 54 cars and 23 bicycles. 

Yarra City Council approved the proposal in April 2026 after it was submitted late last year.

But the council added a number of conditions to the planning permit, which were reportedly different to those recommended by the council’s planning officers. 

The developer disputed these conditions at VCAT, which considerably cut the project’s size.

The council had cut the building’s height to 20.8m—the project was submitted with a maximum building height of 25.09m—and an upper setback of 8m to Brunswick Street and 6m to Cecil Street. 

▲ Communal amenities would comprise 78sq m of outdoor terrace space on level five and a 28sq m gym in the basement.

Yarra City Council also listed other conditions relating to the location of bike parking, the direction of balconies and an amended landscape plan. 

While the council and the developer agreed on some issues prior to the VCAT hearing, the council continued its “broader opposition” to other condition changes sought by Valli. 

The conditions in dispute were primarily centred upon the form and presentation of the proposed building. 

The council said that while the site is in the Brunswick Street Activity Centre, the immediate area primarily consists of Victorian one-storey and two-storey buildings, and the smaller building height was necessary to maintain the existing character of the area.

If built to the height the developer planned, it would be the tallest building along Brunswick Street, the council said. 

Yarra City was also critical of the lack of photomontages of the development, questioning the accuracy of 3D projections. 

But VCAT presiding members Kerrie Birtwistle and Stephen Axford did not agree with the council that the height cut was necessary, or would result in a less bulky building, given the already deep setbacks included in the design. 

The VCAT members said that the composition of the Brunswick Street elevation provides an “acceptable balance between providing visual interest but within a uniform structure that will not compete with the heritage streetscape”. 

They said the setback condition would have a “large impact upon the likely yield” on what is a large and relatively unconstrained site. 

The tribunal rejected the council request for setbacks on the northern boundary of the site, and deleted or changed a number of other conditions on bicycle parking requirements and landscaping. 

VCAT varied the decision of the council and granted the permit for the site.