PLANS for a new housing estate near Mornington racecourse that would see 250 homes built has gravely concerned residents who say it would impact their amenity and cause traffic issues.
Mornington Peninsula Shire has received two planning applications that propose to subdivide land into 57 lots and 59 lots that border Racecourse Rd, Watt Rd and Carbine Way. Named the “Woodbyne Estate”, the proposed precinct would cover 13 hectares, with the permits including the proposed removal of the council-owned Watt Rd plantation reserve, creation of reserves for new public open spaces and removal of vegetation.
The combined permits apply to privately owned land at 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 Woodbyne Cres and 1, 2, 3 and 4 Albany Way, as well as the council reserve between 8 and 10 Woodbyne Cres. The two planning permits are seeking to subdivide land that currently have four existing lots each. But for the subdivision and development to go ahead, the council has proposed a planning scheme amendment called “Amendment C247morn”, which would allow rezoning the land from a low-density residential zone to a neighbourhood residential zone. It would also permit the public park and recreation zone to be removed.
The council’s Housing and Settlement Strategy: Refresh 2020-2036 has identified Woodbyne Crescent as an area to be investigated for housing growth, which the shire believed would accommodate at least 15 years of housing supply on the peninsula. According to the council, “the amendment is required to facilitate the subdivision and development of the land for conventional and medium density housing and associated infrastructure, such as new roads, parks and drainage reserves”.
But residents who spoke to The News said they feared the proposal would contribute to overdevelopment and turn their quiet residential streets into congested thoroughfares. “We’re concerned about the overdevelopment of it,” resident Adam Wright, whose property adjoins the proposed site, said. “We all agree that it’s a perfect place to subdivide and to provide new houses and homes for people that are befitting and representative of the housing in the surrounding area … but the developer’s plans presented by the council are far from this.
“Some of the proposed block sizes are 263 square metres; they are very small. Houses will be packed in like sardines. It’s too much.” Furthermore, Wright said what he found “really dumbfounding” was “that council wanted this to happen but for nothing in return from the developers”. “Where is the supporting planned infrastructure, especially the roads in an area that is already under huge amounts of stress from traffic?” Wright said he and residents were rallying to “make our voices heard to say ‘hey, look, we’re not NIMBYs (‘not in my backyard’) … it’s not that at all, we’re just concerned about the overdevelopment of it and the effect it will have on the future of our community’.”
The development plan shows access to the precinct being kept from the Woodbyne Cres/Watt Rd intersection with new internal roads shown branching off Woodbyne Cres to provide localised lot access. According to Wright, he was told at a meeting that there were potential plans for a roundabout at the top of Watt Rd and Racecourse Rd and turning lanes from Watt Rd into Woodbyne Cres at a cost to ratepayers.
Another resident Bill Gadd, speaking on behalf of several residents, said they felt they had not been provided enough time to adequately prepare objections to the plans by 24 January after receiving notice on 15 November. “With the Christmas period taking up a good proportion of people’s time and focus, myself and a number of adjoining neighbours to this development proposal site feel that the shire has not provided enough time for all concerned to undertake our due diligence,” he said.
“The Woodbyne Precinct is proposed to accommodate up to 250 dwellings, the majority if not all will be of two-level design. This will most certainly transform the amenity of the surrounding residential areas and impact the traffic flows onto the surrounding road system.”
Gadd added the consultant traffic report appeared “flawed in its modelling and especially its research on historic traffic movements and forward projection” which “does not adequately take into account the current traffic congestion issues affecting the Racecourse, Mornington Tyabb and Bungower road systems”.
Multiple residents have contacted Mornington MP Chris Crewther with concerns, which he has shared in a letter to the shire. Crewther said he would be holding a meeting with residents later this month to further hear about their concerns.
The proposed Woodbyne Estate masterplan is pitched to “provide new and diverse housing for the Mornington township that complements the character and diversity of housing on residential land to the west of the Mornington North precinct”. The shire said following public exhibition it would consider any submissions received before deciding whether to proceed any further with the amendment.
“If council does decide to proceed to the next stage in the amendment process, the proposal and all public submissions would likely be referred to an independent planning panel for review and recommendations,” it said. Council would later decide whether to adopt the amendment and send it to Planning Minister Sonia Kilkenny for final approval. This whole process is likely to take about 12 months.
First published in the Mornington News – 21 January 2025
