Expansion a done deal

Council’s land swap will see Indented Head grow

A LAND swap between the Geelong council and a developer has paved the way for a major expansion of a Bellarine Peninsula town.

The land deal, which was capped with a $104,500 payment to the council, allows for a 75-lot housing estate to be built on the western fringe of Indented Head.

The development will add a significant influx of residents to the small fishing and holiday town, which has a population of about 1000.

In the face of 22 objections, a council development panel last week granted a planning permit for the multi-milliondollar project.

As part of the deal, the council has handed over a 3.9ha public reserve on Batman Rd, which contains some scattered native vegetation.

The reserve was created in 1988 but has not been developed or used for any active recreational activity.

It received back 13.6ha of land in the precinct, which the council said was one of the two most significant parcels of remnant vegetation that was in private hands on the Bellarine Peninsula.

“By transferring the areas of high environmental significance to council it will protect the land from development in perpetuity,” a council report reads.

While the extent of public access and use is yet to be determined, play spaces and walking trails will be explored.

“The intent of any future management plan for the reserve will be to protect and enhance the natural attributes of the land.”

The developer behind the 75-lot project is Mira Ira Nominees, which owns the adjoining Seabreeze estate.

Its 19.2ha holding from Batman Rd down to Glenrana Drive forms the end of the settlement boundary for Indented Head, and is surrounded by farming land to the west, north and south.

The proposed layout and lot sizes, which average 520sq m, are similar to that of the Seabreeze estate.

The subdivision will include the creation of roads and an additional stormwater detention basin.

The deal followed more than a decade of talks between the developer and the council about the future of the public reserve and the privately held land.

The planning permit was issued with 72 conditions, including the need to certify all stages of the subdivision within five years.

“By transferring the areas of high environmental significance to council it will protect the land from development in perpetuity.” COUNCIL REPORT