A planning application has been received by the City of Ballarat that could see more than 50 new properties become available in one of the fastest growing areas in the region.
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A major development plan from Beveridge Williams outlines what could be Miners Rest's newest housing estate, comprising 54 potential homes located between Victoria Street and Hamlin Street.
The site has an overall area of 10.65 hectares and comprises 15 titles.
The site is also located closely to a number of Miner Rest locations, such as the Miners Rest Primary School, supermarkets, parks and recreation reserves.
While there doesn't look to be much standing in the way of the plans, the development would see homes built just over one kilometre away from the Central Victorian Livestock Exchange (CVLX).
CVLX, which has been located in Miners Rest since October 2018, has caused quite a stink with some members of the community who claim the odour emitted from the saleyards to be "putrid".
The Environmental Protection Authority has said almost 80 residents had reported odour with 390 pollution reports in the nine months up to late November last year.
The Courier contacted Beveridge Williams about the potential odour issues those buying within the proposed estate may face, however they failed to respond by the time of publication.
Over the next year, AAMIG, the company that runs CVLX, has been tasked with planting 'buffer vegetation' to help reduce the odour.
The 'buffer vegetation' would include the planting of 4400 native shrub seedlings as well as 50 mature trees, to be completed in increments by May 2021.
Tim Gallagher, CEO of AAM Investment Group (AAMIG), the organisation that runs CVLX, said he is confident the planting will assist in masking the odour.
"Planting extra vegetation provides a range of additional environmental and screening benefits for the site and is expected to reduce potential future risk of odour being emitted from the site," he said in a statement.
The pollution abatement notice to plant the vegetation buffers was the fourth such notice the saleyards have received during its short history in Miners Rest.
The Central Victorian Livestock Exchange is the biggest sale yard in Victoria. According to its website, 30 per cent of Victoria's sheep and lamb sales take place through the facility, helping to generate more than $210 million in livestock sales each year.
One person who is looking past the odour issues at least for now is City of Ballarat Councillor Grant Tillett.
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When considering the addition of another housing estate in Miners Rest, Cr Tillett said he was not surprised such a large one was being planned for development and added his belief that homes within the estate will not be for sale for long.
"The appetite for people wanting to live north of the Western Freeway is being clearly demonstrated by the housing estates we currently have in that area," he said.
"Council really does have to appreciate and accept that some people don't want to go out west, a lot of people want to come north.
"The minute those lots are able to be sold off the plan, this land will sell as fast as it's made available. There is a clear demand in Miners Rest for development."
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