Ballarat's western housing boom continues with proposed 480-dwelling site

The former farming site is being offered by Buxton Ballarat and Gull and Co. Buxton's Mark Nunn says there will be likely be a one-to-two year wait as the land goes before council for rezoning.

"That whole area where this block is situated, the surrounding parcels of land are actually in a rezoning phase as we speak," Mr Nunn said.

"We're selling it to a developer who will essentially develop it into, hopefully, around 480 houses. It's prime real estate really, because that's where all the residential subdivisions are pushing out towards now."

With lot sizes decreasing as developers struggle with the housing crisis, a map of the new development gives an indication of the density of housing sought, with a single green space in the centre of the plan and an existing watercourse with parkland.

A back-of-envelope calculation would give an average lot size of 666 square metres but this will fall dramatically with roads and amenities.

Mr Nunn says the land has been on the market just five days but he's already fielding a significant amount of interest from local and out of town developers , particularly from Melbourne firms keen to invest in Ballarat's booming real estate.

He says the growth in the western corridor will continue, with pressure for more farming land to be released and rezoned for homes.

"It's a prime piece of real estate," Mr Nunn says, "and it sits right on the boundary of the next set of rezoning for the western side of Ballarat.

"Once this site and others around it get developed, it'll keep going west, because they have keep producing land for housing."

That tension between farms and homes will fall to the City of Ballarat for resolution. The site, if approved for rezoning as is likely, may be one of the first covered by the council's newly approved Environmentally Sustainable Design principles.

The city's director of development and growth Natalie Robertson says there are no planning applications for residential subdivision in front of council's planners for the site at 339 Ballarat Carngham Road, and land is zoned for farming.

"The land is however in an area that has been identified as a future western growth area for Ballarat and has potential to be rezoned to residential for further development," Ms Robertson said.

"The City of Ballarat is not involved in the sale of land at this point and would trust that any purchaser would conduct their own due diligence on the land status.

"If the future western growth zone amendment is supported by the Minister for Planning, the land would be rezoned to residential via a Precinct Structure Plan that would need to be prepared and incorporated into the Planning Scheme.

The City of Ballarat said it is committed to sustainable development through incorporating Environmentally Sustainable Design principles in Precinct Structure Plans, or PSPs.

"Many of Council's adopted policies also support an Environmentally Sustainable Design approach, which are included in the Council Plan 2021-2025, the Carbon Neutrality and 100% Renewables Action Plan 2019-2025, the Ballarat Integrated Transport Action Plan 2020, the Ballarat Circular Economy Framework and the Ballarat Zero Emissions Plan," Ms Robertson said.

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