By Lachlan Abbott
A council in Melbourne’s inner west has reversed an earlier planning permit denial to give the green light to brewery Moon Dog’s proposal to turn Footscray’s iconic Franco Cozzo furniture showroom into a multi-level bar and music venue.
Maribyrnong City Council in June refused Moon Dog’s application, citing risks to vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists alongside amenity impacts on the area.
Moon Dog brewery co-founder Karl van Buuren outside the old Franco Cozzo building in Footscray in June.Credit: Justin McManus
The initial decision to block the plan for a three-storey brewery with a playground, rooftop bar, and multi-tiered Roman-style fountain was criticised on social media by some locals. Other residents had opposed the development – which was planned to cater for up to 900 people – due to concerns over parking, traffic and noise.
But on Saturday morning the council said in a Facebook post that safety concerns had now been resolved and a planning permit would be issued shortly, subject to approval by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Under the revised plan agreed to by the council and the brewery, the venue’s capacity will be 800 patrons instead of the initial plan for 900. The venue will also progressively reduce its capacity every hour from 10pm until close.
“Moon Dog has agreed to manage occupancy to mitigate the risks to large numbers of patrons exiting onto the narrow footpath adjacent to a busy road,” the council post read.
“This means a slight change to the previously proposed hours of operation – from 11am to 11pm Sunday to Thursday – and 1am Friday and Saturday, with a gradual reduction in occupancy after 10pm.”
Fencing and the footpath adjacent to Shelley Street will also be upgraded.
Moon Dog co-founder Josh Uljans said the revised permit meant the business would gradually remove potentially hundreds of patrons every hour from 10pm until close to “reduce the inherent risks that would come from 800 people spilling onto the street all at once”.
“We’re very happy with where it has landed,” Uljans said.
“[They are] minor changes in the scheme of things, really just addressing the specific concerns which were primarily around the safety of intersection which sits next to the building.”
Moon Dog has committed to keeping the famous Franco Cozzo signage and mural. It had also planned to create an area dedicated to the furniture king with wares fit for his stores.
Mayor Sarah Carter said the council was “delighted to welcome Moon Dog to Footscray”.
Carter said she sat down with co-founder Karl van Buuren days after the initial refusal to address concerns that the site’s narrow footpath couldn’t safely cope with the proposed influx of patrons.
Planning tweaks including the gradual scale down of venue occupancy until close and the erection of barriers near roadside exits meant the council was now satisfied the proposal was safe, she said.
Carter said roadworks that have already commenced to remove a slip lane on the Franco Cozzo corner of the Hopkins Street-Moore Street intersection and improve pedestrian safety also factored into the council’s decision.
“We understand there still may be concern from some residents that objected on the grounds of the noise from that venue,” she said.
Van Buuren said he was glad to reach an agreement.
The mural on the Franco Cozzo Footscray building.Credit: Richard Cornish
“We think it’s going to make a fantastic space for a Moon Dog venue and the Footscray community in general,” he said.
There is no set opening date yet but van Buuren said he was confident it would be a short build that would see the venue up and running well before the end next year.
“We look forward to all the local residents coming down and having a beer,” he said.
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