After a contentious two year dispute, a housing plan for an 18-hectare site including the historical Clover Cottage on Manuka Road, Berwick has been released.
Casey Council opened up their consultation period to the public for the newly released draft plans and invites the community to provide feedback until 11:59pm on 1 March.
According to the 47-page 2025 draft plan, the project intends to deliver around 150 -160 additional housing lots and a residential population of about 446 persons based on an average household size of 2.88 persons.
It also endeavours to deliver the integration of parklands and recreational facilities as well as continuing to protect popular local attractions, heritage sites such as Clover Cottage and Minard Villa.
The development plan precinct boundary is nestled behind Berwick Secondary College on the corner of Manuka Road and Allen Street, and close to Cardinia Creek Parklands.
It’s been over two years in the making after a 2023 draft plan on the same precinct, which was endorsed by the council, was not supported by the developer, Parklea Development.
Following the 2023 consultation period, which saw a total of 86 submissions, many outlined the importance of bushfire protection setbacks and clarification of drainage options for the precinct — suggestions that have now been included in the new 2025 draft plan.
Many also requested further information about traffic as well as vegetation and fauna management.
For context, back in August 2021, Parklea drafted and submitted their development plans to the council, which later gained endorsement from the administrators at the time.
But in June 2023 developers alleged that the council had made changes to the plans that they did not agree with, lodging an application for review with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
Parklea submitted an alternative plan called the ‘October Draft’ to VCAT for approval but in November, the council requested approval of their own draft version called the ‘November draft’.
After numerous debates and exchanges, in March 2024, the tribunal ultimately overturned all versions of the development plans, asserting that no version of the submitted drafts complied with the DPO24 clause that outlines the requirements of development plans in the Casey Planning Scheme.
And while it did not agree to Parklea’s ‘October draft’, VCAT found that this draft was a better response to the DPO24 clause.
Casey’s Mayor, Stefan Koomen said the development plans were an important step in guiding future development in the area and championed the community feedback period.
“Community input is vital to ensure we can achieve the best possible outcome in this area and I encourage interested residents to view the proposed plan and provide us with feedback during the consultation period,” said the Mayor.
Council officers will also be hosting two community informational sessions at the Berwick Football Club on Tuesday 10 February at 12pm and 4:30pm.
Submissions and feedback regarding the 2025 draft plans can go to, conversations.casey.vic.gov.au/manuka-road-development-plan.
