THE owner of Beechworth’s Billsons Brewery will this week lodge an appeal with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) following Indigo Shire Council’s rejection of a proposed amendment to the existing planning permit for extended trading hours and holding events.

The brewery sought to extend hours of its seven day a week retail sales that trades from 9am to 5pm to operate from 7.30am to 5.30pm as well as the Whisky Lounge with its existing opening time from noon to 5pm seven days a week to include a change of Friday to Saturday hours from noon to 10.30pm and from Sunday to Thursday from noon to 7.30pm.

The amended application also sought to operate 26 one-off one-day events held on any day of the week that doubled the original requested 12 that was knocked back by council in the original planning permit approved in January last year.