Council hits pause on contentious Highton Village overhaul
GEELONG council has hit pause on a divisive plan to overhaul Highton Village with a strategic framework to “guide future development” in the area and boost urban infill.
Councillors on Tuesday moved to defer a scheduled vote on a recommendation to endorse the Final Highton Village Urban Design Framework, a city plan to modernise the Belle Vue Ave precinct with major streetscape upgrades, road redesigns and a push to promote developments of up to four storeys.
Councillor Ron Nelson called for the deferral, saying he wanted “more information” from city officers. The council group unanimously supported the deferral.
Geelong Advertiser readers were this week evenly split on the plans, with 54 per cent of 195 online poll voters signalling they did not support the plans. The city first launched community consultation around its hopes to modernise the Highton Village precinct five years ago, with the latest consultation attracting 65 submissions earlier this year.
While 26 submissions supported pavement renewal and minor upgrades to Belle Vue Ave and the area’s laneways, 33 submissions objected to changes to the roundabout and Taylors Court intersection, and the removal of a service lane between Barrabool Rd and a carpark
Plans for “multirise development” in the village also prompted 24 objections.
The framework includes five primary recommendations and projects, including to: CONSOLIDATE commercial land uses within the retail core to promote a compact village centre;
PROMOTE high quality mixed use development up to four storeys that respects the low scale built form of the Village;
REDEVELOP the council carpark for a mixed use development and carparking, in the long term;
REDESIGN the junction of Belle Vue Ave and Barrabool Rd to reduce vehicle conflicts; and,
UNDERTAKE streetscape upgrade works in the Barrabool Rd service lane, Village Walk, Belle Vue Arcade, the rear laneway and Belle Vue Ave to emphasise pedestrian routes and create a unified material palette throughout the village.
Community feedback to the city included comments stating “We do not want a huge mess of retail high rise buildings”, “The proposed development at the Council Car Park should be taken off the books, full stop,” and “Increasing pedestrian crossings will not only contribute to the above traffic concerns, but also poses a number of safety concerns”.