By Natalee Kerr

A government-run workshop intended to help design Torquay’s planning policy for the next 50 years has angered a community group.

3228 Residents Association said it was “not impressed” with last week’s event, believing that it failed on “many levels” and excluded a “large proportion” of residents.

“(Having) only 100 places for a population of over 20,000… (it’s) totally inadequate,” the group posted on social media.

“This was obvious when people lined up to attend, not knowing the event was ‘sold out’.

“By limiting the numbers of attendees and the timing of the consultation during business hours, the resulting outcome of the session will be skewed.”

Last Friday’s workshop was the “only” face-to-face opportunity for the community to ask questions about the draft Statement of Planning Policy for the coastal area, the group said.

“The consultation for stage one was much better managed and allowed for greater community input as people could drop in at times when they were available,” the post read.

The workshop also failed to address “main” community concerns including township boundaries, according to the group.

But a Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DWELP) spokesperson told the Indy this week that preparations were underway for a second workshop “outside of business hours”.

Building height restrictions and the locations of settlement boundaries are set to be determined during a third phase of community engagement next year, according to DWELP.

The recent workshop follows state government’s decision to declare Torquay and Jan Juc as “distinctive areas and landscapes” in September.

The declaration would “permanently” protect the towns from over-development, the government said.