Views such as this await the 600-house development along Hopkins Point Road.
A HUGE tract of land along Hopkins Point Road is being earmarked for suburban expansion with early moves towards a 600-house development.
Warrnambool City councillors voted this week to prepare and exhibit a planning amendment for the re-zoning of land within the Hopkins Point precinct.
The flagged estate represents Warrnambool’s biggest single housing project east of the Hopkins River where residential development has been largely contained around Riverview Terrace during the past few decades.
City Council chief executive Bruce Anson said the Hopkins Point Road project followed a number of housing developments during the past decade, including Dennington Rise and Wangoom Road.
He said small and large residential blocks would be offered under the project, ranging from 800 square metres to more than 2000 square metres at the larger end of the scale.
“This development will offer a really diverse range of land blocks for housing as Warrnambool continues to grow,” Mr Anson said. “Not all the blocks are 600 square metres. Sure, there are some smaller lots but there are also wider blocks in the mix.
“It is a superb location with views across the Hopkins River, over to Proudfoots, Deakin University, the beachfront and back over to Warrnambool itself.”
A combined 118 hectares (292 acres) of land has been included in the planning scheme amendment with the larger 89-hectare section (220 acres) sandwiched between Hopkins Point Road and the northern riverbank.
The smaller 29-hectare (72 acres) site is located on the south side of the road, extending down to the coastal reserve to the east of Logans Beach.
An undisclosed group of developers will spearhead the project and were approached through the city council to comment yesterday. The individual or group did not respond.
Warrnambool mayor Jacinta Ermacora said environmental requirements had been written into the planning scheme that will ensure the return of coastal species and habitat to what is now a farming paddock.
“Development will be required to integrate with the landscape and will include building envelopes that ensure view sharing for each property,” she said.
“This amendment represents a further diversification of residential land availability in Warrnambool, its innovative environmentally friendly design will attract people who are keen to live a sustainable lifestyle within a coastal environment.”
The land in question was included in the council’s Warrnambool Land Use Strategy 2004-2024 along with other growth areas in the north-west at Dennington, north of the Merri River in the Wollaston area, as well as north-east around Wangoom Road.
Contributions to the infrastructure upgrades will be made prior to approval of the rezoning.
