Like many people from the Mornington Peninsula, Jim Ford chanced upon Metung and decided it might be a nice place to retire.
Taken by the relaxed lifestyle and its en- chanting village atmosphere, Mr Ford bought his parcel of land at The Beaches in Kings Cove in 2019.
Overlooking the lakes, near the new marina, it’s a tranquil setting with breathtaking views across the water.
With an endorsed planning permit already in his possession, Mr Ford submitted an applica- tion for a minor amendment to East Gippsland Shire in November last year.
He received a response from the Planning Department shortly thereafter advising that “a matter has arisen which affects our ability to consider your request for secondary consent”.
The written correspondence further ex- plained that “this matter cannot reasonably be resolved in a timely manner, as it requires amendment to the relevant agreement/ covenant on your title”.
The author of the email (who the Advertiser has chosen not to disclose) suggested Mr Ford proceed with his endorsed plans or “otherwise be prepared to wait until the matter is resolved”.
Mr Ford was also informed that “council had begun a process to review and amend relevant agreements and covenants, but this process has not yet occurred”.
“Until the covenants and agreements are amended, then there is no individual or entity authorised to endorse modifications to plans,” the council statement said.
Mr Ford phoned the planning department after receiving the email and was told it could “take six months to four years to resolve the issue” which pertained to blocks in Kings Cove and the Riviera Canals in Paynesville.
Jim Ford isn’t alone in enduring the frustra- tion of having his plans to build put on hold as one of many who purchased blocks that were part of a land parcel release by Riviera Proper- ties and its associated companies some years ago.
Many others have been affected by covenants
and agreements that were tied to the land sales to ensure a particular design overlay was ad- hered to.
The group was placed in liquidation after its principal lender went into receivership in late 2013.
An architectural review panel, which was established to ensure that the design overlay of Kings Cove and Riviera Canals was adhered to, has also ceased to exist.
Michael Sadler of Bairnsdale based town planners, Crowther and Sadler, told the Adver- tiser because “the companies have been killed off there’s no ability to assign from a dead company”.
“It’s an oversight during the process which has trapped quite a number of people,” he said. “I think the process was unforeseen but the ramifications of it are far reaching because you’ ve now got people who can’ t comply with
the lawfully assigned requirements.”
Mr Sadler said when it came to light the administrators, Ernst and Young, “provided council with an amount of money to assist in
resolving the impasse”.
He said the shire had “inherited someone
else’ s problem but they’ re the vehicle to effect change”.
Geetha Govindarajan purchased land in the King’s Cove estate in April last year.
The parcel of land in Plateau Avenue has a magnificient vista overlooking the Gippsland Lakes.
Mrs Govindarajan’ s daughter, Gitz, and son- in-law, Ramesh, who live in Melbourne, were with Mrs Govindarajan when she purchased the land.
“We saw a lot of properties, but Geetha want- ed a waterfront property,” Ramesh said.
They settled on a piece of land for $180,000 which Ramesh confirmed “has an excellent water view”.
“She was very excited by the purchase. We all were,” he told the Advertiser.
Mrs Govindarajan appointed her son-in-law power of attorney in order for Ramesh to act on her behalf in overseeing the building project.
Once the land was purchased, Ramesh said he approached different builders before decid- ing to go with Metricon Homes.
Some variations were made to the plans and a deposit was paid to Metricon late last year.
Ramesh said he was aware of the guidelines regarding building in Kings Cove in which builds had to conform to a particular standard.
“We did our due diligence and all that,” Ramesh said.
Ramesh said conforming to the guidelines added a further $50,000 to the build.
In January this year, Metricon came back with the full design drawings and Ramesh ex- pected the build would proceed without fuss.
However, he says things started to unravel shortly after.
Ramesh said he was informed by Metricon “there’ s a problem in Kings Cove”.
In correspondence the Advertiser has seen, Metricon said it was unable to obtain building permit approval “until such time the developer approval process in council is completed”.
Ramesh said he phoned the shire’s building department himself and spoke with a senior administrator.
Ramesh said he was questioned why he had purchased the land and was strongly encour- aged “to return the land” to the real estate agent from whom his mother-in-law had made the acquisition.
In the same phone call Ramesh claims he was told that the council “didn’t have a timeframe” on when the issue would be resolved because its full focus was on bushfire recovery.
“It was horrible to hear, I couldn’t sleep for three days,” he said.
Dejected and confused, Ramesh said follow- ing the phone call, he advised Metricon in early February that he wouldn’t be proceeding with the contract to build a home in Kings Cove.
“My mother-in-law was very disappointed and has since returned to India,” Ramesh said. Mrs Govindarajan still owns the land in Plateau Avenue and hasn’t given up hope of
one day building on it.
In a statement, Metricon’ s regional manager
for Gippsland, Jeff Telford, said: “The issue for those who have purchased land there, is that the estate developer guidelines require written consent. With the developer no longer existing as an entity, the covenants, restric- tions and overlays of the land fall back to council, who up until now have had no process
in place to authorise consents for the requirements”.
“This unfortunately leaves the new pur- chasers in limbo until the council can facilitate a process of approval,” Mr Telford said.
He said a number of customers, who had ei- ther paid a deposit to Metricon or were at the inquiry stage, were affected by the covenants but Metricon remained committed to working with and supporting them through the process.
Director of GJ Gardner Homes in East Gipp- sland, Michael Ellett, said his company had too become caught up in the debacle.
“We have had customers looking to build in the Kings Cove Estate deciding not to buy there due to the uncertainty and not knowing if and when they would be able to build,” Mr Ellet said.
“The letter of compliance has to come from the East Gippsland Shire now that the archi- tectural review committee no longer exists.”
Mr Ellett said for many unsuspecting buyers, the issue “doesn’t rear its ugly head until they go to build”.
He says once discovered, many of those who had their hearts set on building their dream homes were instead left upset and confused.
For Ian Lockwood of Lockwood Real Estate in Metung, the debacle has left a bitter taste.
“I’ve got to tell everyone now that I know there are restrictions on building because you can’t get a building permit unless it goes through the Architectural Review Panel, which is non-existent,” he said.
“It’s got to be resolved.”
Chris Martin, from King and Heath Real Es- tate, confirmed his agency was the selling agents for the initial subdivision at both Metung and Paynesville.
Mr Martin said the issue needs to be resolved and while he’s aware the East Gippsland Shire didn’ t create the problem, he believes it’ s in- cumbent upon them to resolve it.
Kate Young, a senior planner with Crowther and Sadler, told the Advertiser that not all properties are affected by the covenant.
“Many can continue to build unencum- bered,” she said.
“There’s no one size fits all approach here, it depends on how the covenant and/or agree- ments were negotiated at the very first transfer.”
Ms Young confirmed that some of the covenants could have now expired and would no longer pose a constraint.
She said Crowther and Sadler was presently dealing with about 20 clients whose land was “affected in different ways”.
In a statement, East Gippsland Shire’s man- ager of place and community, Jodie Pitkin said: “We are working closely with external legal support to resolve this complex matter as a result of the failure of the Riviera Properties company.
“The timeframe for resolution is dependent on the willingness of the existing property owners for legal agreements to be lifted and the process will vary for each agreement.”
She said “landowners can seek independent legal advice if they choose and are able to work with their own solicitors to have agree- ments lifted.”
Ms Pitkin said those affected are advised “to specifically check their title for the arrange- ments that apply as they do vary between properties”.
She “strongly encouraged” anyone consider- ing purchasing land in either of the estates “to seek independent advice prior to doing so”.