Homes boom

By Bridget Cook
THE City of Casey will soon be home to Victoria’s newest residential community – Clyde North – which will be home to about 18,500 people.
Planning Minister Matthew Guy announced on Sunday the approval of the Clyde North Precinct Structure Plan (PSP) – a master plan for a whole new community.
“Approval of Clyde North is an important step toward opening up land to create a new community in one of Melbourne’s fastest growing areas,” Mr Guy said.
The plan comprises of about 432 hectares of developable land, as well as 137 hectares of open space and is located south of the Princes Freeway and east of Berwick Cranbourne Road, near Berwick South.
The Clyde North plan will allow more than 6600 new houses to accommodate and population of about 18,500 residents.
Other key features in the plan are community hubs that will bring together schools, kindergartens, maternal and child health centres, parks and sports grounds.
Land has been earmarked within Clyde North for construction of three government schools to complement the existing Hillcrest Christian College.
Hillcrest already has over 1200 students and is one of the fastest growing schools in the region.
As well as four small retail precincts and a local town centre, the development will also feature attractive community facilities, open space and transport networks, 15 local parks, four outdoor sports facilities and employment areas. In addition, it will include a conservation reserve along Cardinia Creek and an attractive waterway.
Mr Guy said the Clyde North plan would guide the development of quality residential development and cater for Melbourne’s expanding population, which is growing by more than 1300 residents a week.
“These plans are a crucial part of the Growth Areas Authority’s work to rezone suitable land for development to ease land supply pressures in the growth areas,” he said.
Mr Guy said streamlined planning processes have helped reduce the average timelines for the creation of new PSPs from more than six years to about two years or less.
“This has ensured land is released in a timely fashion and helps improve housing affordability throughout Melbourne,” he said.
The Clyde North plan has been approved through Planning Scheme Amendment C153 and has the support of the City of Casey.
Mr Guy also approved a Developer Contributions Plan to ensure the provision of $117 million of local community infrastructure.