A plan for hundreds of new homes along Somerton Road has been met with fierce opposition from some Hume councillors, who have said the north is already struggling under the weight of over development without matching infrastructure.
Council approved a planning scheme amendment tied to the Somerton Road precinct structure plan (PSP) during its May 26.
The PSP will pave the way for 250-300 houses on land at 800-870 Somerton Road, Greenvale.
Council received 23 submissions about the planning scheme amendment during a public consultation period last year, of which 18 objected to the amendment and could not be resolved.
An independent planning panel reviewed all submissions before issuing a report in support of the amendment.
Speaking at the May 26 council meeting, Cr Jim Overend said he could not support the plan until there was more infrastructure.
“It’s an ongoing issue out in the north where infrastructure is just never there for our community. We’ve seen it with the Craigieburn West PSP, we’ve seen it in Kalkallo. We keep putting houses out there and just not enough roads … thus creating traffic jams,” he said.
“I can’t support anything until we see infrastructure come into place. Once we have infrastructure, let’s build the houses –that’s fantastic. But until then I can’t see us continuing to build more and more homes in confined areas with no access for our community to get around in.”
Cr Ally Watson said council had made “similar mistakes before” by allowing growth without proper planning.
“A few hundred houses doesn’t sound like much, but unfortunately we live in a very car-dependent world. We have 250 houses, which is more than 250 people – so I’ll be against this planning scheme amendment tonight.”
Cr Naim Kurt said the community’s objections were being ignored.
“When you look at the submissions, almost 90 per cent of the community are against it,” he said.
“And what are their concerns? The lack of shops, the lack of services, the congestion, the high-density housing.”
Cr Kurt said the absence of funding commitments for critical upgrades to Somerton Road was “a real kick in the guts for the community”.
The amendment will now be submitted to the planning minister for approval.
