Ten years is a long time in local government.
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All it takes is a polar shift in the way society is organised and all those plans made a decade ago will need to be adjusted.
With the demand for housing in Blayney showing no sign of abating, Blayney Shire Council have had to take into consideration the changing face of demand for one of its largest residential developments.
The 40 lot Torrens title subdivision at 19A Plumb Street was originally designed with the minimum 450 square metre lot size considered to be suitable for modest two bedroom homes.
The demand at the time was for retirees and older people looking to downsize onto blocks that they could more easily maintain.
Housing pressure and an increased demand from young families that want to move to Blayney has meant that council has received a number of applications for homes that are much larger than those that were anticipated on the small blocks.
We need to be reasonable on that six metres, and four is a good compromise.
- Scott Ferguson.
Blayney mayor Scott Ferguson said that unlike the development opposite which has larger 700-800 square metre lot sizes, the purchasers of the smaller blocks want to be able to squeeze homes more suitable for the larger blocks, onto the small ones.
"Part of the problem is that originally the developer was going to offer land and home packages," he said. "As demand has changed they're now just offering the land and with that the new young families are wanting bigger homes.
"We've been having a number of builders showing up with plans from their clients showing that their plans won't fit on the blocks with a six metre setback."
When the Bathla Group was granted approval for the development in December 2019 each home had a setback of six metres from the back boundary. In the Blayney Development Control Plan the required minimum setback is 1.5 metres.
During the February council meeting councillors approved the change allowing for larger homes to now be built by reducing the required setback to four metres.
"We need to be reasonable on that six metres, and four is a good compromise," Cr Ferguson said.
The change didn't come without its critics. Some residents that will surround the new developments delivered their own submissions to council with privacy being a universal theme.
Planning staff noted that the four metres was still higher than the 1.5 metres in the DCP and the new lots were 500mm lower than the surrounding established properties. They also noted that without the ability to build 2 storey homes, the 6m rear boundary setback restriction is excessive and limiting on smaller lots.
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