A DEVELOPER will need to amend plans for a 101-townhouse estate in Epsom after council officers found it did not have enough housing diversity or public open space, little greenery and there were too many garages fronting the streets.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The application for the $15 million development, which will lapse on Monday if further details are not received, includes a childcare centre to cater for 124 children.
It was lodged with the City of Greater Bendigo in August, but “significant” changes were likely before it could be considered by planning authorities.
The 101 townhouses were proposed for more than three hectares of land off Station Street, about 200 metres south of the Epsom Railway Station.
It includes four internal roads to link the townhouses, which were all proposed to be two-storey with three bedrooms and private yards. They each have a single vehicle garage and would be built in pairs, sharing one wall.
The proposal is the first stage of the development, with the remaining land fronting the Midland Highway.
The planning applicant – acting on behalf of a Footscray-based property owner – describes the proposal as “an appropriate response to the site” that provides “quality additional housing in a highly sought after location”.
“The new dwellings and childcare centre are well designed in terms of having a quality appearance and providing visual interest along each of the facades, and also in terms of protecting the amenity of the adjoining properties,” the applicant wrote.
The proposal diverts water to the west and has no flood impact on the adjoining Langley Drive development.
It also received support from traffic and Aboriginal heritage bodies, and received favourable wildlife reports.
The proposal occupies the eastern half of this block in Epsom:
But the City of Greater Bendigo had a number of reservations.
In a responding letter, a senior council planner listed 13 issues that would need to be resolved in amended plans before it could be progressed to the next stage.
“The application proposes 101 dwellings, all two storey and all consisting of three bedrooms. It is considered further diversity needs to be provided including a mixture of dwelling types and sizes,” she said.
“The dominance of garages along the streetscape is an unacceptable outcome from an urban design/built form perspective.
“There is a significant lack of public open space/linkages to areas of public open space and the current layout incorporates little greenery.”
The proposal had a similar level of housing density to the 104-dwelling Lansell Crest development in East Bendigo, which the council approved last year. Based on land behind the VicRoads office, the estate includes a wider range of housing options.
The City of Greater Bendigo planning policies place emphasis on in-fill development to create enough housing stock to last for the coming decades, along with greenfield housing estates in Huntly, Maiden Gully, Strathfieldsaye and Jackass Flat.
Last month the council approved a 137-lot subdivision in Bagshot, on the eastern edge of Huntly, near the proposed future site of a Huntly Railway Station.
The owner of the land in Epsom was contacted for comment.