Whittlesea councillors have called on the state government to protect green wedge areas from urban sprawl after council approved a plan for a South Morang development.
The housing development plan sets out to build up to 80 medium density dwellings to the east of Hawkstowe station and was adopted at the 17 February council meeting.
Cr David Lenberg said the state government needs to incentivise developers to build high density housing closer to existing infrastructure.
“This is abutting our green wedge area, I don’t want to see any more pressure put on that,” he said,
“There is a massive urban sprawl occurring.”
Cr Aidan McLindon voted against the plan and said council cannot develop one block of land at a time.
“We need to have a holistic plan, I don’t think we can afford to keep continuing to build on urban sprawl,” he said.
Cr Blair Colwell said despite urban sprawl concerns, the council has a responsibility to deliver affordable housing.
“The plan is going to deliver medium density housing at different price points which are more accessible, I think it’s important that we can support that,” he said.
Cr Jarrod Lappin endorsed the plan and said that it offers a high-quality lifestyle for residents.
“Medium density housing around public and active transport offers a lot of benefits, like being able to walk or cycle to Hawkstowe station or having access to the Yan Yean pipe track,” he said.
“The Mernda and South Morang areas are very beautiful and this development really brings that connection to those natural assets forward.”
According to the Department of Public Transport (DTP) the state government encourages higher density housing near existing infrastructure by reforming planning laws and fast tracking good housing developments.
“We know we need more homes – that’s why we’ve been focused on getting more homes off the ground in areas close to train stations, trams, jobs and services,” a DTP spokesperson said.
“Our green wedges make Melbourne a great place to live – that’s why we have a plan to preserve them, ensuring that as our city grows, homes are being built up and out, not just out.
“We’ll continue to work with councils to see how we can unlock space for more homes where it makes sense.”
