Developer’s state plea

John Van Klaveren
STATE Government should intervene to open land for housing at Torquay, according to a company planning residential development at Spring Creek.
Amex Corporation state manager Rob Burgess told an Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) lunch in Geelong that Surf Coast planning needed outside assistance.
“Whether that is an agency of the State Government or not, Torquay needs the next level of assistance,” Mr Burgess said.
“All development areas from Armstrong Creek to Pakenham now have some level of State Government involvement.”
Mr Burgess told the lunch Torquay’s community was “more attuned and sensitive to every decision” on development.
“Surf Coast needs an intervening (planning) agency,” he said.
Mr Burgess said insufficient land supply was creating “enormous pent-up demand”, which in turn put pressure on the planning system.
“The State Government needs to take a more sophisticated approach to the issue of land supply. The housing market is more sophisticated so supply needs to be more sophisticated.”
Amex owns an 87-hectare site at Spring Creek listed under “current projects” on the development company’s website.
Amex shelved initial plans for 750 allotments, shops and a Christian College campus on the site last year when Surf Coast council tore up its proposal for extensive development in the valley.
However, the site moved back toward development when Planning Minister Justin Madden last month approved a planning scheme amendment effectively expanding Torquay’s urban boundary one-kilometre west of Duffields Road.
Council had earlier told Mr Madden’s advisory panel that development could go ahead “at the appropriate time” with a “settlement boundary to this western growth corridor”.
Other speakers at the UDIA lunch included Herron Todd White national research director Richard Jenkins who said the Geelong region could expect an extra 85,000 residents in 36,000 households within 25 years.
Mr Jenkins predicted Surf Coast’s neighbouring Armstrong Creek growth area would take 10 to 20 years to complete.
Rising interest rates would decrease housing affordability elsewhere, he said.
“Geelong offers affordability and will benefit as a result. People are more willing to commute and the region’s workforce is more diversified,” Mr Jenkins said.
“Regional centres offer an alternative to crowded metropolitan areas.”