Council has decided to refer public submissions about a proposed residential development on Hams Road, Waurn Ponds to an independent panel, appointed by the Minister for Planning.
The land affected by Amendment C372 is 35 and 69-93 Hams Road, Waurn Ponds and a Barwon Water reserve, north of the train line between Ghazeepore Road and Anglesea Road.
The amendment proposes to rezone land from farming to general residential, to create 258 residential lots, 21 larger interface lots, two medium density sites and a creek reserve.
During the public exhibition process, the City received 164 submissions from the public, 159 of which were objections.
Community members raised concerns about issues such as traffic, housing density, environmental impacts, flooding and drainage.
In response to issues raised in submissions, the proponents of the rezoning and development have offered the following proposed changes:
- Removal of two medium density sites that would have housed 40 dwellings
- Removal of all lots less than 300 square metres, replaced by lots of at least 400 square metres
- Addition of a minimum 30 lots, at least 800 square metres in size and
- To make a $500,000 contribution to the City to improve Ghazeepore Road, in addition to other required upgrades to the intersection of Hams and Ghazeepore Roads.
Community members who put in a submission will get the chance to appear at the independent panel hearing, which will further review the proposal.
Acting Mayor - Councillor Peter Murrihy
I thank the community members who gave their feedback on the amendment, as council determines the best way forward.
I encourage those people to have their say at the independent panel hearing, which is the next step in this process.
