March date for development start

Constructionon a multi-million-dollar housing-development first for Horsham will start in March next year.

Developer Stuart Benjamin from Elmstone Property Group confirmed the date after a Horsham Rural City Council decision to grant a permit for the Oatlands area project.

He said the decision also meant the Ballarat-based group could immediately start appointing Wimmera contractors and would announce a principal building firm in coming weeks.

“Elmstone has already appointed Ferguson Perry Surveying in Horsham for the survey and design process,” he said.

Mr Benjamin said he was also excited that many of the 12 Wimmera buyers who had already put their names forward to secure houses in the development would have the confidence to access federal and state government first-home-builder grants.

“Any contracts signed before the end of December will qualify for the full $25,000 Federal Government HomeBuilder grant. Any signed after then will still qualify them for $15,000. Of course a State Government $20,000 First Home Owner Grants scheme continues well into next year. This was a critical part of this development,” he said.

A new-look Horsham council, in its first ordinary meeting since local government elections, voted 4-3 to grant a permit for the development to go ahead.

The project involves building a contained housing development block featuring 35 single-storey, single-bedroom apartments on a 5000-square-metre site at the northern end of Alexander Avenue.

The ‘village block’ concept is designed to meet ‘pressing demand’ for alternative and ‘affordable’ housing options in Horsham. The individual houses, which come with a six-star energy rating, are designed for couples or singles wanting to either enter the property market or to significantly downsize their holdings.

The houses will sell for an average price of about $200,000. The Horsham council’s split vote reflected community concerns some residents had raised since the project announcement.

Cr Penny Flynn moved to grant the permit based on a need for more housing options and investment in Horsham and had support from fellow councillors Les Power, David Bowe and mayor Robyn Gulline.

But Crs Di Bell, Claudia Haenel and Ian Ross, with primary concerns ranging from the impact on neighbourhood amenity and character to setting high-density development precedents, spoke and voted against the proposal.

They were all supportive of development investment in Horsham but called for alternative or changes to project plans.

Councillors agreed that for the project to proceed there was a need for greater traffic control and risk mitigation in Alexander Avenue.

Mr Benjamin: “We are yet to see the council proposal for traffic control, which was passed as a planning amendment. Several objectors had raised concerns about increased traffic in the area, which we acknowledged, and the council appears to have addressed this.”

Councillors debated granting a permit after a council report showed the developer had met all Horsham and Victorian Planning Scheme requirements.