Plans for a 38-lot housing development in Woodford have been given the green light despite criticism that it is "too dense" for the area.
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The project has also sparked calls for the council to come up with a masterplan for the area with a strategy to guide future development.
The Woodford Heights Development plan won the approval of councillors in a five-one vote in which deputy mayor Richard Ziegeler said he couldn't support it until a number of objector concerns had been addressed.
"I am not comfortable with it at all," he said.
Cr Ziegeler said he didn't like reducing the block sizes to 4000-square-metres when the next smallest block size in the area was 5000-square-metres. "I think it's becoming a bit too dense," he said.
Mayor Vicki Jellie said she was excited that there was going to be a new development in the growing area.
She said while Bridge Road was busy, discussions were ongoing with Transport Victoria about the traffic issues and she reminded users to adhere to the 60kmh zone.
Cr Ben Blain said it was an important development for growth at Bushfield, and had been amended in response to objectors' concerns.
He said plans for picket fences were abandoned to keep the development in line with the rural lifestyle feel of the area.
Cr Blain said a lot of work had been done on the effects of the waste water on the water table. "I feel confident from the reports we've got from the officers that this development will be sustainable and environmentally friendly," he said.
"This is an exciting growth opportunity for Woodford and hopefully we can get a masterplan going on here so we can actually have a strategy as this area continues to grow."
Cr Otha Akoch said it was a great development but objectors' main worries were the single entry and exit to the development on to Bridge Road.
Cr Debbie Arnott said the entry and exit may need to be looked at further down the track.
Cr Max Taylor said he was initially concerned about the single entry and exit to the subdivision, but after travelling to the site he could now see it was the best way for the subdivision to work.
Putting a second exit onto Brodies Lane, he said, would create an "extremely dangerous" intersection on the top of a hill.
Cr Ziegeler said while the development met legal requirements and most of the issues had been addressed, there were problems that had not quite been resolved.
He raised concerns about the dangers of having one entry an exit to the estate, especially in the event of a bushfire.
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He said trucks used Bridge Road to bypass Warrnambool, and those traffic concerns had not been resolved.
"The pedestrian concerns have not been addressed apart from a traffic island which to my way of thinking is not sufficient for the residents of Woodford," he said.
"I can't support it until those things have been resolved. I am not comfortable with it at all."
Cr Ziegeler said there was a "fair impact" on the school infrastructure, and the council hadn't yet received a response from the Department of Education.
He said they also hadn't received responses from other government departments on the traffic issues.
"So I'm not comfortable supporting it until those things are fixed up. They're too important to ignore," Cr Ziegeler said.
Cr Blain said hopefully something could be done to improve the traffic situation in the area, but because it was a state road and a state school it was something council didn't have a lot of control over.
The development will be built in four stages.
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