THE State Government might be set to lock down the township boundary of Cowes for the next 50 years, under its Distinctive Areas and Landscapes (DAL) process, but there’s still some infill within the township boundary to come.
And last Wednesday, May 17, the Bass Coast Shire Council voted to allow the subdivision of a 3.6 hectare site at 273-297 Church Street, Cowes, into 59 individually titled allotments of between 301m2 and 765m2, although most of the sites are of a compact size, between 300m2 and 400m2.
Situated within walking distance of the beach on the western side of Cowes, and described by Cr David Rooks as “an appropriate site for infill development”, it is essentially a clear site ready to be developed for housing.
But it would be a mistake to say it was completely vacant.
The applicant’s arboriculture advice identified 214 trees that would (or may) be affected by the proposed subdivision. These trees were distributed as follows: 110 trees on the development site, 37 trees on neighbouring property and 67 street trees.
The report to council noted that 56 of these trees would require a planning permit for removal under council’s vegetation protection overlay but of these, 38 were proposed to be removed on the basis of their poor condition.
While Cr Rooks acknowledged it was disappointing to lose the established trees, to make way for site preparation, he said that there would ultimately be a net gain in native trees and schrubs.
“As the population continues to increase on Phillip Island within the Bass Coast, we of course need more housing to support that. This site is an appropriate site. It's within a general residential zone, and it's actually picked up within our local strategic planning framework as an infill development opportunity,” said Cr Rooks.
“So, it's an appropriate site for housing, and it's far better to have all this population going into this area, instead of extending our town boundaries, which I know the community is not keen on.
“I appreciate there were 26 objections to this application, which covered eight different areas of concern and I had a look at all those objections, and the council offers responses, and I'm comfortable with the responses that make it quite clear that this application does meet all the necessary relevant policies.
“I also note that the external agencies also approved application without any issues.
“There is, of course, always vegetation loss that tends to come along with these developments and that's a frustration. I understand that for the developers it makes it a lot easier for them if they can start with a greenfield site, in the sense of getting the services in place and also the best layout for the houses.
“I'm pleased that our council planners pushed back on the applicant, and there's a lot more trees being left on the site than what would have been if the developers got their way.
“And in the end, there’s going to be significant net gain of vegetation on the site with a lot more native trees or indigenous trees being planted as street trees. So that's a good outcome.
“There was also some concern from people that we’re building another residential area without any greenfield space. However, we don't need to have a greenfield space on every subdivision. What's important is that there’s one nearby and in this case, there's open space just nearby on the North Shore Reserve and also there's going to be the pathway down to the beach where there's plenty of open space there.
“So, I'm happy to support this application.”
The council agreed offering its unanimous support.