The owners were also granted permission to operate gin tastings and sales from 10am to 7pm, provided they secured a liquor licence.
Wayne Kelly and Tess Scanlan own a 12-hectare block along Euroa-Strathbogie Rd where they are already growing Australian botanicals and juniper trees for gin production.
They plan to become the first distillers to make a 100 per cent Australian gin with 100 per cent Australian ingredients.
Their plan to make gin on their 12ha block attracted 12 objectors — most of them neighbouring property owners concerned about groundwater usage, noisy crowds, increased road traffic, increased roadkill and rowdy overnight guests.
On July 19, Strathbogie Shire councillors heard from several of these objectors and the owners themselves before voting to approve the gin distillery.
Cr Chris Raeburn said the proposal had caused “a lot of angst”.
“Unnecessary angst, I believe, up in the community of Strathbogie and Kithbrook,” Cr Raeburn said.
“To me this is just an ordinary development of a farming zone property; it’s just like a wheat or barley farmer also putting a distillery business on their farm.”
Cr Raeburn made the point that Mr Kelly and Ms Scanlan were allowed to farm on their own property, whether or not they received permission from council.
“The comment was made in [the] objections that the trees are flammable. Well, you grow a wheat crop or a barley crop and that’s flammable too,” he said.
Cr Kristy Hourigan said she was confident in council’s planners, who’d spent a lot of time on this application.
“I’d also like to acknowledge the applicants have made significant changes to their operation to really try and work with the community,” Cr Hourigan said.
Mr Kelly and Ms Scanlan originally applied to run a restaurant and accommodate wedding receptions at the distillery, but removed these in respect to their neighbours.
A representative for Mr Kelly and Ms Scanlan said the gin distillery development was no different to a vineyard, cellar door or thoroughbred farm — all of which are allowed in the farming zone.
“This is a horticulture proposal. The distillery is insularly to it in that they are going to produce on the farm ... and they also would like to live there,” the representative said.
“I think people will be quite surprised with how small it’s going to look on that block.”
The representative also defended the proposed operating hours of 10am to 7pm.
“I don’t think it’s a big ask for 7pm,” he said.
“To have something extended out to a nice dusk so people sit out until 7 o’clock, it doesn’t seem unreasonable when you think about it.
“Most of us go out to cafes and things that aren’t always in town, they are out on farms or in rural areas and you can be there until 10 or 11 at night.”
The representative also made the point that on-farm accommodation was lacking in the area and it was probably the Strathbogie’s “best industry that we’re not utilising” when discussing the six self-contained, one-bedroom cabins.
Both Cr Hourigan and Cr Raeburn spoke in support of the six cabins.
“We know we are in desperate need of short-term accommodation around the area and we know there is a rise of Airbnbs where people are renting out their homes,” Cr Hourigan said.
“This contributes to the renting crisis, so when we develop short-term accommodation, it’s competing with the Airbnbs and it helps fix the housing crisis.”
Cr Raeburn said offering on-site accommodation after a day of gin tasting was a good idea and he saw it as a “win-win” as the cabins would help stop night-time driving and roadkill.
Cr Sally Hayes-Burke tried to limit the operating hours and pull the closing time back to 4pm, but she wasn’t supported by the other councillors.