Housing rezone approved

THE site of a former aged care facility in Queenscliff’s Nelson Road will be rezoned to enable the creation of seven house blocks.
The planning permit required to rezone the land to Neighbourhood Residential and apply a design and development overlay was approved, with conditions, at last week’s Borough of Queenscliffe council meeting.
The aged care buildings, which haven’t been used since before 2005, still exist on the site.
However, the facility is no longer capable of meeting the current requirements and expectations of the aged care industry, and the structures have fallen into disrepair.
A report to the council explained that the Queenscliff land had mixed zoning and overlay controls and was underutilised, and the rezoning would be generally consistent surrounding land and recent planning practice direction.
The planning permit application proposes the creation of seven house blocks across the site with a six-metre-wide common property access from Nelson Street.
Four lots between 527 and 556 square metres will front Murray Road to the north, however all vehicle access from the common property access, with a restriction preventing vehicle access to Murray Road.
The proposal is for three lots covering 503 square metres, 539 square metres and 608 square metres, which will be south of the common property access.
Ten trees will be removed and two of those trees, both willow myrtles, trigger planning permission.
Council considers the proposed housing subdivision responds “appropriately to the environmental and character attributes of the locality”.