THE recent influx of dual occupancy housing in Orange is set to be curbed in the plans for a 1600 lot southern subdivision unveiled on Thursday.
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Orange City Council director of development services David Waddell said council had experienced historic trouble with dual occupancies.
“The main problem has been that dual occupancies have sprung up on standard blocks where people expected to have normal housing and neighbours were enraged,” he said.
“In this plan, we’ve actually gone very small in areas for single lots.
“People will know they’re small, single lots, they will know the type of housing that’s to come, so we’ve hopefully eliminated that problem.”
The council unveiled the Shiralee Village master plan on Thursday, including a variety of residential blocks, as well as parks, bicycle paths and a village centre.
Orange mayor John Davis said the subdivision would have a country feel.
“You’re really in the country area without having 10 or 20 or 50 acres, which can sometimes be a bit of a pain,” he said.
Cr Davis described the village centre plans as “quite sensational”.
“We’re hoping there will be something like the Leura precinct in the Blue Mountains,” he said.
“It would be magnificent to have coffee houses, open dining and that sort of thing within a few hundred yards of most of the houses.”
The plan has also focused on view sharing.
“One of the principles we’ve taken on board is that if there’s a beautiful view, don’t just give it to two people, give it to 20 people,” Mr Waddell said.
“So you’ll see a lot of cottage-style rows in this development that all share a common view.”
He said council had tried to replicate the tree-lined boulevards in Orange’s older areas.
“You work with the land that you’re given, you work with the constraints that are on the site and you pay homage to it,” he said.
“In this case we’ve got beautiful creek lines, we’ve got views up to [Mount] Canobolas, we’ve got views back over the city - the land takes care of itself.”
Cr Davis said council had consulted thoroughly with the landholders and had accommodated their wishes.
“We’ve got a cross-section of people who would like to develop their land, and we’ve got to certainly make sure it’s got to be done in a sensible manner,” he said.
“We’ve got people who don’t really want to develop their land so nobody’s lent on them - we’ve respected their opinion and they can stay as they are, however they have the opportunity in the future if they’d like to be part of this suburb.”
The subdivision is set to provide housing for the next 10-15 years, however the timing will be left to the market.
Council staff would not be drawn on comparisons to north Orange, saying the public would decide for itself.
Councillors will vote on whether to put the master plan on public exhibition on Tuesday.
Why Shiralee?
The master plan was named after Shiralee Road, following Orange City Council staff surveys and public consultation.
The word itself means a swag or a bundle of personal belongings carried by a tramp.
The name is currently unconfirmed and can still be changed by council.
Other options included South Orange and Lysterfield.
danielle.cetinski@fairfaxmedia.com.au
