A VCAT decision that overturned council’s refusal for a housing development in Gisborne, has seen nearby residents voice multiple complaints since construction work escalated in the past six months.
Following proposed amendments in 2025, the Rosalia Estate is expected to provide 861 dwellings on about 85 hectares of land close to the town’s centre. But residents from neighbouring streets to the site’s development in Skyline Dr, Cherry Lane, Swinburne Ave, and Ross Watt Dr – to name a few – have argued poor traffic management has hindered their daily life in the past six months with the ongoing roadworks.
Macedon Ranges Shire councillors unanimously blocked the development in 2023 on several grounds, including its “unacceptable” response to biodiversity, waterways, bushfire, catchment planning management, built environment, and environment and landscape values. Council also said it “failed to respond to the unique rural character of Gisborne”.
However, VCAT approved the development because Gisborne was identified as a growth area under State Planning Policy and a senior VCAT official argued, “there is no uniform existing character in Gisborne”.
Now, residents have voiced frustration with the council regarding the roadworks that have occurred in the past six months under their delegation.
“Tristen Larsen, a nearby resident, described the traffic arrangements as ‘extremely poor,’ saying that navigating Swinburne Avenue and Cherry Lane has become both challenging and time-consuming.”
“The bus service can’t operate along Cherry Lane, Swinburne and Ross Watt, so it simply bypasses our area and continues along Station Road. I’ve raised concerns with the council because it’s unfair on residents, particularly older people, vulnerable community members, families with children, and people with disabilities, who now have no access to this service,” he said.
“I rely on the bus to get to the train station for work in the city, but now I have to leave home much earlier and walk to a more distant bus stop, lugging my backpack through all kinds of weather and the dusty, noisy construction zones. It’s exhausting and incredibly frustrating.”
Another nearby resident, Dean Markham, said many factors had been considered in this project, but not a thought was spared for the nearby residents.
“I understand council has the unenviable job of attempting to manage a project’s impact that was handed to them by VCAT, despite their objection. That is unfortunate, but that’s council’s job. I have read most of the 800-plus pages of consultants reports and environmental impact studies and the host of other propaganda paid for by the developer and designed to enable this estate,” he said.
“I have never read anything anywhere at any time about the environmental impact of this development on the existing people who live here.
“So what happens to get action to address these problems? You can’t go to the Shire, they are impotent. You can’t go to the local MP, she is behind it. You can’t go to the Minister, she sanctioned it. You can’t go to VCAT, they pushed it through and then wiped their hands of it. So, where is there to go?”
For the past six months there had been three temporary traffic lights set up on Ross Watt Dr, including one set up in the driveway of a resident’s home. One resident said he was confused because there had been no works completed there in the past six months, despite the traffic light hindrance. He told the Express one of the construction workers advised that upgrades to Ross Watt Dr were halted because water was rising up from the ground underneath, potentially from the adjacent wetland area.
He wanted to bring this up at a council community information evening for the residents scheduled a week ago, however 24 hours prior to it occurring, council cancelled the meeting due to “high level of interest”.
The Express asked council to confirm if water had impacted these works, however it failed to respond before deadline.
More to come.
