Moyne Shire Council to gauge Mortlake locals' appetite for subdividing large residential blocks for housing

Acting mayor Daniel Meade said the session would help give the council insight into the best ways to boost housing availability in the growing town.

"We want to better understand barriers and issues to future housing growth in Mortlake and this town pulse session is a key part of getting that information from the community," Cr Meade said.

A council spokesman said the shire was targeting owners of land that was already zoned residential, saying there was a fair amount of land within Mortlake where the owners were sitting on large double-blocks that could potentially be subdivided and built on.

The spokesman said the initiative was not linked to the council's key worker housing plan, which is also looking at ways to increase housing availability in the shire.

Cr Meade said the council wanted to discover any obstacles that might be holding land-owners back from subdividing. "The session is about engaging with the community to help council get a better understanding of where the opportunity is and how the community sees that opportunity being realised," he said.

"We know there is a significant housing shortage across the south-west region and council is very keen to take steps to ensure we have plans in place to continue dealing with that issue."

The council has also released a survey on its website asking Mortlake residents whether they wanted to see the town continue to grow, and whether they would subdivide their land to help boost local housing. For owners willing to subdivide, it asked whether they had immediate plans to do so.

The survey also asked whether the cost or complexity of the planning process was holding people back from dividing up their blocks.

The town pulse session will be held from 3pm to 6.30pm on June 29 at the Soldiers Memorial Hall in Mortlake. The online survey closes at 7pm on June 29.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:

Now just one tap with our new app: Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with The Standard:

Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.