There is a proposal to build up to 1600 detached and medium density dwellings on the site of the current Keysborough Golf Club (KGC) at 55 Hutton Road, Keysborough.
The KGC has agreed to sell its land in return for a relocation to, and build of, a new course on Pillars Road in Bangholme. To enable housing development to take place on the current KGC site, the Victorian Government must amend the current location of the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB). The KGC currently sits just outside the UGB. The site was originally intended to be inside the UGB, as can be seen from the general positioning of the line along Springvale and Hutton Roads, but the Club’s committee, when given the choice in the early 2000s, opted to remain outside the boundary. In the ensuing years the KGC has advocated to the City of Greater Dandenong (CGD) to have the boundary shifted. The CGD has on four separate occasions supported this advocacy, and made various submissions to the Government to this effect.
The site to be developed is at 55 Hutton Road Keysborough. As the current KGC is surrounded by housing immediately to its north, east and south-west, housing in this part of Keysborough would complete a historically intended infill of the area.
There is an acute shortage of developable land in the CGD, with approvals having peaked in 2016 and dropped steadily since. Most of the remaining supply is only for apartment development near the Dandenong CBD which does not meet the needs of most families.
Intrapac Property has agreed to purchase the existing KGC land and will develop the new housing estate onsite, as well as fund and develop the new KGC site in Bangholme and the adjoining South East Sports Hub.
Victoria is in the midst of a housing crisis.
And the City of Greater Dandenong (CGD) is not immune.
The Housing Statement released by the State Government in 2023 declared that 2.24 million new homes will need to be built by 2051 to ease acute pressure on our population.
In the context of CGD, the Allan Government’s Statewide Draft Housing Targets (2024) insisted that Greater Dandenong must see a net increase of 57,000 dwellings between 2023-51. That’s an extra 2040 new homes needed each year.
The 55 Hutton Road project would make a 1600 dent in that figure – and in quick time.
The proposed construction of a mix of detached and medium density dwellings on the current site of the Keysborough Golf Club (KGC) is projected to have a $1.1 billion impact on the Victorian economy.
Respected planning and economic consultancy Ethos Urban suggests the residential project will support 6500 jobs during construction and lead to an estimated annual retail expenditure in the realm of $68 million by the new community’s 5000-strong population. That would be a huge boost for local traders such as the Parkmore and Keysborough South Shopping Centres.
And Council stands to benefit too, with a predicted $2.9m in extra annual revenue based on current rates and charges.
The KGC has agreed to sell its existing land to property developer Intrapac and is planning to relocate to a new site in nearby Bangholme.
But the project cannot take shape unless the State Government agrees to consider shifting the positioning of the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB).
The current KGC site falls just metres outside of the UGB, which means that residential development is not able to take place.
But this is a historical anomaly – as one might be able to see by the fact that the UGB generally runs along Hutton and Springvale Roads, before skirting around the periphery of the KGC site.
The KGC was originally intended to be inside the UGB, but in the early 2000s the Club’s management chose to sit itself outside of the UGB out of fear of incurring higher holding costs.
But times have changed. The KGC wants to move to safeguard its future, and many more homes need to be built for the community.
