A family who took on property developers in a small country town (and lost) have refused to move from their pleasant country house despite it being surrounded by a huge shopping centre.
Leanne, Rod Adams and their family continue to live in the shadow of their shopping center home in Bannockburn, 88 kilometers southwest of Melbourne.
The Adams family and three other city residents fought against the Bannockburn Central shopping center in 2017 and took their protest to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
The Adams house remains a peaceful farmhouse despite its less than ideal surroundings…
The family home is dwarfed by a shopping center that is building a parking lot nearby.
The Adams house is shown with a red pin. The shopping center built around them when they refused to sell their land
But in August 2019, VCAT ruled in favor of the Golden Plains Shire’s permit for the renovation of the shopping complex following a three-day hearing.
Years later, the Adams home is still exactly where it always was, located opposite a green reserve on Victor Street, near Bannockburn Bushland Reserve.
Only now it is surrounded by the large shopping complex, which is in the process of being expanded.
WhatsNew2Day Australia visited Adams’ home last week and found the family still living happily next to the shopping centre.
A large, friendly dog greeted locals as they walked downtown.
Around the corner, the shopping center appears to have been embraced by the local community, with hundreds of people coming in to buy their groceries.
The Adams family dog greets passersby in front of their home, built around the large shopping complex.
The clan did not respond to a request for comment.
Rod and Leanne Adams continue to live in their Bannockburn home years after developers built around it.
Ms Adams did not respond to WhatsNew2Day Australia’s request for comment, but spoke against the development in person in court.
He opposed the council’s decision to grant planning permission for the shopping centre, which now houses a large Woolworths store and other small shops.
While the large shadow and visual mass of the center were an obvious concern for the Adams family, they believed that the center was not maintaining the character of the locality, existing land uses and heritage sites.
In addition, they stated that it did not provide adequate pedestrian connections, negatively affected important vision corridors to nearby public spaces and did not provide a high level of urban design and safety for pedestrians.
But the council claimed to have the people’s backing, arguing it had been planning to develop the site since 2011.
The developer, a Geelong family business, agreed, telling VCAT the development was “based on and responsive to its area, its overlays and local politics”.
He submitted that the proposed development met the needs of a growing population and expanded the existing shopping center on the land in question.
Losing the fight, Mrs Adams insisted to the local newspaper that she had never been against the council’s idea of developing Bannockburn town centre.
Adams’ house (far right) has been dwarfed by the Bannockburn Central shopping centre.
The shopping center is supported by locals.
Construction of the complex has stalled
He just didn’t like the way it had been done, particularly how close the developers originally wanted to get to his property and the street itself.
Ms Adams welcomed VCAT amending the permit to increase the distance of the redevelopment from Victor Street.
“That rejection is a victory for residents in particular,” he said.
Golden Plains Mayor at the time, Owen Sharkey, applauded the decision at the time.
“We are pleased that VCAT has confirmed this decision,” he told Geelong Independent.
“It is now up to the developers to move forward with the next stages of the redevelopment and we hope construction will begin soon.”
Cr Sharkey said Bannockburn’s population was growing by 8.5 per cent each year and that the multi-million pound redevelopment would revitalize retail in the town.
The proposal would create jobs, entice residents to shop locally and attract shoppers from nearby towns, he said.
“Local businesses are the heart of our economy and the new supermarket will attract more customers who will hopefully invest time and money in our small businesses in central Bannockburn,” he said.
For now, the site of Mrs Adams’ former neighbor remains fenced off after construction of a nearby car park was halted.
When it finally opens, hundreds of cars are expected to drive past the house every day, disturbing the remaining tranquility.
Despite the increase in traffic, the Adamses seem determined to stay where they are.