Council endorsement paves way for new bar in West Melbourne

The City of Melbourne is expected to give the green light to a new bar in a converted West Melbourne warehouse despite receiving 75 objections.

A permit application for the sale and consumption of liquor at a rear warehouse on the site of 405-417 Spencer St, West Melbourne was considered at the Future Melbourne Committee (FMC) meeting on July 12, shortly after North West City News published its July edition.

With the council’s management having recommended supporting a permit, councillors were expected to give the all clear to applicant Pistillo Holdings Pty Ltd’s plans for a 150-patron capacity bar in the existing warehouse facing Batman St.

The new venue, named The Angry Dog according to plans, has proposed to operate from 12pm to 5pm Monday to Wednesday and 12pm to 11pm Thursday to Sunday, with background music played within the bar and a solo musician.

Plans for the “bespoke warehouse event space” also include a big screen at the northern end of the site, a food truck and bike racks at the entrance. A mezzanine with a floor area of 15 square metres will also be constructed on the side of the warehouse, resulting in a total floor area of 398 square metres.

However, the council received 75 objections to the plans, which related to concerns regarding noise, anti-social behaviour, public health and safety, reduction in car parking, inconsistencies with the noise impact assessment and the intended land use.

Despite concerns raised surrounding the noise and overall impact on amenity, the council stated that noise would be regulated by the use of noise limiters, while a condition would be placed on the permit requiring the roller door of the premises be closed at 10pm.

“These measures are considered to effectively mitigate potentially unreasonable noise impacts,” the report from council’s management stated, while adding that anti-social behaviour and adverse impacts on public health and safety would be “limited by the scale of the proposal and a venue management plan”.

“The proposed buildings and works will be entirely contained within the existing building and are considered appropriate and proportionate to facilitate the proposed bar use,” the report stated.

The site, located next to the Australian Red Cross Blood Service building, is part of a larger parcel of land on the north-west corner of the intersection of Spencer and Batman streets and comprises two lots.

The single storey warehouse on the Site sits next to buildings associated with the former Dalston Bakery – a two-storey former bakery building at 405-407 Spencer St identified as having a “significant” heritage grading. •