COST of new service infrastructure can make residential property development in the Loddon Shire unviable.
That’s a key finding of a report commissioned by Loddon Shire from major regional property developer Villawood.
However, the report that has been discussed in private forums by councillors since late last year says Inglewood and Bridgewater are possible growth hotspots.
Villawood says land development option investigations “demonstrate that when significant infrastructure such as new roads, drainage basins and lengthy service extensions are required, that the cost of these works generally exceeds the market sales price of the land and therefore the financial viability of the project would unlikely be supported by lenders. 
“Bridgewater and Inglewood are the exceptions being closer to Bendigo, where market land values are higher. Presently, the most attractive opportunities are available for land that only requires a modest infrastructure spend to create the new titles, or for existing vacant titled land.”
Villawood said key stakeholder discussions found consensus that Inglewood and Bridgewater should be the focus towns for development as they were the logical hubs for the Shire due to their natural attributes, proximity to Bendigo, and both towns, in particular Inglewood had the ‘structural bones’ for a commercial business strip.
The report said worker accommodation was also an issue in the shire.
“A number of larger employers indicated a lack of quality housing to both purchase and rent existed across the shire, particularly in Pyramid Hill, Wedderburn and Boort. 
“Without suitable housing, it is difficult to attract prospective workers. New residents require homes when they arrive. They cannot wait several years for their own accommodation. Investors, speculators, and developers are required to deliver housing ahead of demand. 
“Workers may wait to purchase, but if they cannot find properties to rent in the first instance, there is no opportunity to accommodate them. 
“A Build to Rent and or Buy model could be considered. There’s evidence within some of the local communities of the need to build it, and they will come.”
Villawood said Loddon Shire has an abundance of undeveloped land. However, without the appropriate strategic planning, zoning, and investment in infrastructure to facilitate development, economic development and population growth were constrained by a lack of serviced land for residential, commercial, and industrial uses.
According to Villawood, there is a significant opportunity to attract residents from Bendigo to Loddon communities.
“There are already some 456 commuters who travel from Bendigo Local Government Area to Loddon LGA, who may be convinced that with a high standard of affordable future development in the Loddon region to ‘cash out’ of the growing Bendigo property prices that have increased approximately 70 per cent in the past five years.”
To unlock residential development, Villawood said Coliban’s water and sewerage pipes would need to be upgraded.
And it says current available vacant zoned land may not be fully or satisfactorily serviced. Service authority plans must align with growth opportunities and may rely more heavily on developer funding.
Other findings in the report include a review of current construction standards to match to existing town and streetscape characteristics, council develop its own sites that have existing constructed road frontage and are either fully or partially serviced, planning for sufficient land supply with service providers to meet the needs of the market and provide certainty to the industry and the community on the prioritisation and timing for the investment in trunk infrastructure to support development and investigation of funding to provide trunk infrastructure  to support land development.