Development trend continues for Ballarat's south-eastern suburb

The development is a further addition to the 'changing face' of the area with previous proposed developments causing concern by neighbours and residents.

The proposed works at 62 Magpie Street would see the construction of six dwellings located next to another developed area, Madelia Court and a larger development in Gladstone street.

Each house would be a two-storey build, with a two-car garage, three bedrooms, study and solar panelling.

The land is 4000 square-metres, with a four-bedroom house already on the site, which was sold in 2020. Each lot would be on just under 430 square-metres of land.

All dwellings would also have a rainwater tank.

A common driveway would be developed along the houses, and timber fences would surround the boundaries of the subdivision.

The Magpie Street development is located about 400 metres away from the site of a fire which destroyed an historic house owned by Sovereign Hill in early May.

The nearby Madelia Court was built and developed over the past 10 years, with some lots still being sold.

In 2014, a Magpie Street development ended up at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal when City of Ballarat council failed to decide after 60 days on whether the land known by locals as the William Dunstan Reserve and residentially zoned could be subdivided.

The Magpie Street development would also share a boundary with Peady Street reserve.

A larger development in Gladstone Street had recently garnered controversy in the community, however the proposal was presented as being in an area earmarked by the City of Ballarat for "ongoing change".

The proposal was to subdivide a two hectares of land - adjoining and situated between the Peady Street and Gladstone Street Reserves - into 19 residential lots, with the average lot to exceed 720 square-metres in size.

City of Ballarat planners approved the creation of a road reserve at 420 Gladstone Street to provide the formal access point required for the site's internal road layout.

Residents had raised issues with the Gladstone proposal over the removal of some 400 trees, comprising mainly pines and two different species of native wattle trees.

Another larger development in the area, is a 28-lot subdivision in Mount Clear near the Woowookarung Regional Park, which was lodged more than a year ago in March 2022. Residents also raised concerns with a lack of community consultation.

According to the Real Estate Institute Victoria, houses in Mount Pleasant have a median selling price of $483,000. The weekly rent average is $360. A three-bedroom house, like the ones proposed for 62 Magpie Street, averaged at just over $500,000 to buy.

The proposed site was first sold in 1978 for $28,000.

It sold in 2020 for $740,000.

A house in Madelia Court, just next to the proposed subdivision in Mount Pleasant, has been estimated by online real estate agencies to cost over $600,000. A recently leased house in Madelia Court was advertised at $500 per week.

The national housing shortage crisis along with cost of living increases, including another rate rise, has seen a call for more affordable housing. In April 2022, the state government confirmed "a proportion" of the rooms needed would be converted into affordable and social housing.

The planning application was put together by Southern Cross Town Planning located in Soldiers Hill. The development is currently on the City of Ballarat's website for advertised planning applications.

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