Aged care providers will be able to develop three storey properties in Melbourne and restrictions on the number of facilities will be eased under changes to zoning laws.
The Victorian Labor government has revised its planning blueprint, which shows an additional 1.6 million dwellings will be needed by 2050 to accommodate population growth of about 3.5 million people.
The changes will impact the ring of suburbs 5km – 20km from the CBD, which remain low density and have not experienced much growth over the last 30 years.
“The reason we need to have increased density is because a lot of the services and much of the amenity is located in our well-established suburbs,” Planning Minister Richard Wynne told the Financial Review.
The ability for residential care providers to go up a level will be welcomed news for many.
“All the modelling we’ve done suggests you need 90-100 rooms to make a viable operation,” said Paul Hameister of developer Hamton Group.
“Ideally that’s around 30 rooms on each level, across three levels. If you only do two levels the economics don’t work.”
However, new minimum percentages will be in place for developments to keep land available for gardens.
