Liam McNally
The Stonehill residential development has been given permission to expand by Moorabool council, despite pushback from local environmental groups.
An addendum to the West Maddingley Development Plan was approved by council at a meeting on Wednesday, May 3, which sought to change the use of land at 289 Werribee Vale Road, Maddingley, from public open space to residential.
The change in turn allowed for a separate application for a six-lot subdivision for the privately-owned site to also be approved.
Bacchus Marsh Platypus Alliance president Dr Jodie Valpied spoke in objection to the proposal, on the grounds that the development plan needs to be put on public exhibition again if public open space is being removed.
“This is an addendum to the development plan but it actually changes what is in the development plan, which is public space that is clearly marked,” she said.
Moorabool Environment Group member David Marnie agreed with Dr Valpied.
“In our town we consider public space, particularly close to the river, as incredibly important…we’re very concerned that without proper consultation this makes a precedent for other changes that will have a detrimental impact on our amenity,” he said.
Dr Valpied was also concerned about potential environmental risks from the development, stating a company working on the development is under investigation by the EPA.
EPA Southwest regional manager Carolyn Francis confirmed that the EPA issued a company working at a development site on the Stonehill Estate, Maddingley, with an Environmental Action Notice on April 28, 2023.
“The notice requires the company to install sediment controls and remove any litter or waste from the retention basin area at Stonehill Estate, to prevent sediment or litter reaching nearby stormwater drains or the Werribee River,” she said.
Councillor Moira Berry raised an alternate motion to defer the application until the result of council’s own investigation into sediment entering the Werribee River from Stonehill Estate comes to fruition.
The motion failed, and the addendum and subdivision motions were both passed.
ProUrban associate director Aidan Robinson spoke on behalf of the applicant.
“The land there is privately owned, it’s not a public space at the moment. I hope that’s quite clear,” he said.
“There’s a concept plan at the lower end of that document that in our mind clearly stipulates that there is an ability to develop this portion of the land subject to further consideration which is what we’ve done with council officers recently,” he said.
