DEVELOPMENT Victoria will seek public feedback on its new master plan for Wodonga's Junction Place.
The government planning authority will also defer an application to the council to build a Dan Murphy's store on land previously earmarked for a cinema.
Its group head precincts Geoff Ward flagged the moves late on Friday after Wodonga Council chief Mark Dixon and mayor Kev Poulton issued a media release acknowledging community opposition.
Mr Ward said: "We agreed with council officers that a recommendation on the master plan would go before council at their November meeting, followed by the retail permit at the December meeting.
IN OTHER NEWS:
"We will be finalising the dates and timing for the community sessions early next week and encourage the community to register.
"We are committed to delivering an outstanding development for the community of Wodonga."
Moderator of the Engage Wodonga Facebook page Bobbi McKibbin, who organised a petition against the bottle store, which attracted 2558 backers, welcomed the shift in approach.
"This is definitely a step in the right direction and a great win for the community, but this is just the beginning," she said.
"We still need to fight for our seat at the table with Development Victoria.
"Council has heard us but now Development Victoria needs to hear us."
Ms McKibbin wants multiple consultation sessions and an advisory group, involving community members, to oversee the rollout of the master plan.
Former Wodonga Council director Michael Gobel, who wrote an opinion piece in last Saturday's Border Mail criticising the previous process, also embraced the turnaround.
"I'm confident that the councillors heard the tsunami of objections from the community on the proposal for the Dan Murphy's and this new master plan," he said.
Mr Gobel and Ms McKibbin said it was clear the "cart had been put before the horse" in submitting the bottle shop proposal prior to the master plan being exposed.
Mr Gobel said he was concerned Development Victoria had not shown the same commitment to Junction Place as it had done with projects at Dandenong and the Docklands in Melbourne.
He believes the organisation has "dropped the ball" on the Wodonga works and it has been comparatively under-resourced.
Mr Dixon said Development Victoria has to engage the community and listen to the feedback.
Cr Poulton thanked residents "for standing up and speaking out".
