Unlocking Housing - Timboon
June 2023 Update
Community consultations on how the residential subdivision of land at 5 & 17 Curdies Road Timboon could occur, have now been completed. We are now preparing an application for a planning permit to be lodged in July 2023.
You can learn more about the subdivision in the following fact sheets and plan:
Concept plan(PDF, 622KB)
About the Project
Progress continues on the Unlocking Housing Timboon project to facilitate the delivery of new homes for residents and workers in this growing part of the Shire.
Since mid-2021 necessary Town planning studies and investigations to re-zone the land for residential development have been prioritized.
As re-zoning is now near, Council is moving to the next stages of the project – the delivery of subdivision plans and options for infrastructure works so that land is ready for housing development.
Making land available for residential development has always been the aim of the Timboon and Simpson Unlocking Housing projects.
Council continues to prioritise the delivery of land for new homes, including for key workers, in Corangamite Shire.
The Positioning Timboon and Simpson Strategy developed in 2020 with extensive community input are being delivered through the development of land at:
- 17 Curdies Road, Timboon where Council will subdivide land, provide services and enabling infrastructure to unlock the land for housing by individual owners.
Council is committed to undertake this residential development to unlock the land for housing, and has established an expert team embedded within the Council and drawing on the private sector to prioritise delivery.
Council is also working with the Victorian State Government to unlock land for housing on these sites.
Victorian State Government support through Regional Development Victoria totals $1m through the Living Regions Living Suburbs program.
Site Development
Concept masterplan have been prepared for the land. Council’s urban designer, Architectus, has worked with a reference group, Regional Development Victoria, the Office of the Victorian Government Architect and council staff to create the concepts.
The concept masterplan provides an indication of how the land could develop.
View the Timboon concept masterplan(PDF, 16MB)
The following site diagrams have been taken from the concept masterplan linked above.
A dedicated project delivery group has been established within the Council to drive delivery. Subdivision of both sites will require a planning permit. An application for planning permit for the land is expected to be made around mid-2023.
Community reference group meetings will continue as the projects advance, and extensive community consultation will occur.
Council has engaged an expert civil engineering team to take the concept masterplan forward. The expert civil engineering team will work closely with Council staff to ensure the timely design of infrastructure and to enhance the sustainability of the future subdivisions.
Additional Information
Background
‘Unlocking Housing –Timboon’ is born from the ‘Positioning Timboon and Simpson Strategy 2020’ and the ‘Key and Essential Worker Action Plan 2020’. It seeks to resolve the growing problem of lack of key worker and affordable housing in the Corangamite Shire supporting key local industries and the visitor economy.
We have developed a plan to position Timboon to increase appropriately zoned and serviced land to enable the town to act as a future key service centre to the Great Ocean Road for housing, tourism, accommodation, commercial and industrial opportunities.
The issues
Our Shire is experiencing a chronic housing shortage with accommodation urgently needed for the existing workforce.
Population and economic growth have been held back by the lack of suitable available land to further expand residential areas within proximity to the tourism destinations and agricultural producers in the southern and coastal areas of the Shire.
We know tourism and the visitor economy have been impacted with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the subsequent reduction in overall overseas and interstate visitors to the Great Ocean Road Region. It is still important to plan for projected increases in visitation to the region as a long-term strategic context to planning for the future of Simpson and Timboon.
The forecast growth in tourism will require new development and building of infrastructure to service tourism operations. This project identifies Timboon’s capacity to act as a key service centre for the growing tourism and agricultural sectors, including housing for workers in tourism facilities along the Great Ocean Road.
We have established strategic direction in our ‘Council Plan 2021-2025’ to support new housing opportunities and population growth, promoting Corangamite Shire as a lifestyle residential destination.
A projected short-term increase in the local tourist market also presents opportunity.
‘Unlocking Housing – Timboon’ addresses post COVID-19 population growth and associated demand for housing in regional locations, as people from metropolitan areas of Melbourne and Geelong seek to relocate to towns within Corangamite Shire.
The combined effect of these housing dynamics is that there is a significant shortage in housing for key workers and potential residents to rent or purchase right across the region. The shortage of supply has compounded inflation in the local property market.
Affordable land supply is a key element of Corangamite’s strong economic competitiveness and must be maintained.
The key issues are:
- The region has experienced minimal growth in housing stock;
- Many short-term rentals, particularly in tourism destinations, are unoccupied and underutilised;
- There is a strong correlation between high house prices and holiday homes;
- Rent increases because of lack of supply;
- Workers having to travel large distances for employment;
- The cost of developing land and buildings in some locations does not allow for commercial returns based on land value.