Courtney and Sev’s much-talked-about rooftop terrace has finally had a resolution – their plans have been rejected.
It was the very first scandal of The Block 2026, all the way back in Week 1 . Remember that? We were so young and naive then. After handily winning the first challenge, Courtney and Sev were given first pick of the five properties to make their own.
Houses 1, 2, and 3 all came with stunning, million-dollar views of the water and even the Melbourne CBD across the bay – views which, it could be argued, would sell the houses on their own. Houses 4 and 5 had far less bankable views, but a larger space to work with instead.
Most of the teams were desperately hoping to get the first three houses and their views.
To everyone’s surprise, Courtney and Sev passed over those houses and chose House 4 instead, believing the larger property would give them an edge, especially if they were able to turn their rooftop into a stunning terrace which would provide even more dramatic views over the tops of all the other houses.
The only issue? They had to put in an application to the council to get it approved, and over the entire season, they’ve been waiting to hear the results.
“I know you’ve been sweating on some news,” Scotty Cam said to the girls ominously during last Sunday’s episode. “Because you wanted to sell your house with a magnificent rooftop terrace.”
9 Mackillop Place, Mount Eliza VIC 3930
After taking a dramatic pause, he continued.
“Now turns out that you put your application in for your rooftop terrace, and it came from 109 Old Mornington Road,” Scotty explained, which is the address of The Block site.
“And then all the objections came from the same address,” he added.
For residential developments in Victoria that require a planning permit, the local council generally assesses the application against the relevant planning scheme and, where required, gives nearby residents an opportunity to object before making its decision.
Objections must raise relevant planning issues, such as overlooking, neighbourhood character or residential noise, and council must consider them.
“So unfortunately those plans are a no-go,” Scotty explained.
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council maintains a public register of current and previous planning applications, including applications associated with The Block site at 109 Old Mornington Road.
However, the publicly indexed records reviewed by Domain do not identify any rejected applications, and the last one submitted that relates to 109 Old Mornington Road is still listed as “in progress”. However, a Nine spokesperson has confirmed that the council has knocked back the rooftop terrace application “due to objections”.
Regardless, it was a smart move by the other contestants – the terrace could have been a massive advantage.
Always open for inspection, only on Domain.
Patrick Lenton Patrick Lenton is a journalist and author living in Melbourne. He is the Lifestyle Reporter at Domain.
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