By Matthew Sims
A dream for a new $51 million and 3.6-hectare housing development in Yarraville has taken a major step towards becoming a reality.
At Maribyrnong council’s City Development Delegated Committee meeting on Tuesday, December 13, the committee moved a motion to issue a planning permit for subdivision and the construction of multiple dwellings at 341-353 and 355-359 Francis Street in Yarraville, as part of the first stage of the Bradmill development and delegate the authority to settle any matter before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal which may arise as a result of issuing the planning permit to the council’s city places manager.
The proposal outlined the construction of 135 dwellings in the form of three and four-bedroom townhouses, between two and three storeys high, 272 off-street car parking spaces off-street, 82 on-street car parking spaces, subdivision comprising 135 new lots for dwellings and 11 new vehicle accessways and a pocket park to be presented to council and public and private landscaping works.
Speaking in support of the motion, councillor Simon Crawford said it was “very exciting” to see activity with the planning proposal after a number of years of consideration.
“I know there is a lot of people in that area who have had challenges with the site being vacant for so long,” he said.
“Hopefully, they’ll be relieved to see this taking shape.
“Let’s hope that it’s going to make the area a lot better for everyone.”
Cr Michael Clarke said the development’s first stages stretched as far back as 2005.
“What we have before us…has taken many years, some 17 years, to get to this point,” he said.
“The alternative for this site, if not developed as a housing precinct, was that we have a massive container park.”
Bounded by Francis Street, McIvor Reserve and the Newport freight railway line, the site was home to the Bradmill denim factory until 2007, then rezoned from industrial to residential and mixed-use in 2011.
