General News
12 December, 2023
Bold plan to revive city developments
Ratepayers have until February to comment on council's vision for breathing fresh life into central Horsham.
Horsham Rural City Council (HRCC) voted last week to seek feedback on its Horsham City Urban Renewal Project Redevelopment Options and Implementation Plan, now available for public viewing.
Under the plan, council proposes to free up land for brownfield redevelopment as housing.
The Urban Renewal study area extends from the Wimmera River to Baillie Street and encompasses the Horsham central activities district (CAD).
Three parcels have been pinpointed for further investigation as primarily residential sites:
* option 1 - the 3.5-hectare HRCC depot (which has been earmarked independently for relocation) and adjoining community-use land at 22-32 Selkirk Drive
* option 2 - 3.52 hectares north of Selkirk Drive and the council depot site currently occupied in part by a concrete batching plant or vacant
* option 3 - 2.85 hectares bounded by Firebrace Street, Madden Street, Baker Street and Horsham Botanic Gardens and the Harvey Norman retail premises, presently comprising a mix of vacant, residential-housing and commercial-use land
In releasing the document, council said the three sites - on either side of Selkirk Drive and east of the old saleyards townhouses - were "key for the urban renewal of Horsham providing for housing close to amenities and services, activating commercial development around Wilson and Firebrace Street and improving access to public open space connection though to the river".
The report identifies a range of industrial operations - including the council depot - that are no longer compatible with surrounding commercial and residential use and notes that it is anticipated that these will move out of the CAD in the medium term.
Various designs for townhouses and low-rise apartments are included, along with artists' renderings of commercial shopfronts and mixed-use premises for land options 2 and 3.
Boosting medium-density housing is a primary goal for HRCC as the municipality anticipates almost 1000 extra residents in the next 15 years.
A market assessment has shown that the rural city can expect to see the population rise from 16,660 in 2021 to 16,991 by 2026, and from 17,334 by 2031 to reach 17,649 by 2036.
However, growth is already ahead of this forecast trend, placing pressure on council to find accommodation.
Council does not propose to re-zone any land and will use a range of planning overlays to "achieve quality development outcomes", HRCC says.
Council says its urban renewal project will "provide certainty to landholders, developers, residents and business on future development".
The full proposal can be downloaded from the HRCC website or viewed in hard copy at Horsham Civic Centre, until February 9.