A big decision has been made on the future of popular tourist town Bright with Alpine Shire Council approving a development plan that could see more than 300 houses built.
The Bright Western Gateway Development plan has been touted as a long-term solution to chronic housing shortages, but some residents are concerned it could put unmanageable strain on the town's already groaning infrastructure.
The site, bordered by Great Alpine Road and Stackey Gully Road, was identified as an ideal area for urban growth in 2005. It was rezoned from farming to residential land in 2015.
Mayor Sarah Nicholas said council's unanimous approval of the plan at this week's meeting was just the very beginning of the process.
"It's really just a continuation of the whole rezoning process, to get to this development plan," Ms Nicholas said.
She said council would be carefully managing the significant development, which was described at the meeting as being ten times bigger than any residential development ever seen in Bright.
Homes or holiday houses?
In briefing pages for this development, Alpine Shire Council said Bright had "reached an impasse when it comes to housing availability".
The mayor hoped the development could ease some of that pain.
"It's not going to be instant, so we've still got to encourage other [levels of] government to put things in place to ease that stress in the short term," she said.
"But in the longer term, having more houses [means] the price should come down, or at least people can start to purchase, because there's not much on the market and it sells pretty fast."
But long-time resident and former Alpine Shire councillor Fran Bentley said she was concerned most of the houses would be bought as holiday homes.
"I disagree that it will create more housing for the town because it won't for those that are now unable to find housing," she said.
Ms Nicholas said she did expect a portion of the new houses would be bought as holiday or short-stay accommodation.
Although council could not stop people buying properties as holiday homes, it will be talking to the developers about the needs of the town.
"In the planning scheme under the development plan overlay there'll be a variety of lot sizes, smaller up to larger," she said.
"So one would expect some price differential. But that's the most we can do at this point of time."
Issues around livability
The major concern for Ms Bentley was how more than 300 new homes could impact the town's infrastructure.
Ms Bentley said she was frustrated more had not been done to address these issues before now.
"Council have had quite a few years to improve infrastructure in the town. They approved the rezoning to allow such a big development, and they've done nothing about it," Ms Bentley said.
Alpine Shire Council reiterated that the plan they approved was a "high-level concept for the site", and there were multiple requirements around fire safety and road access that developers would still have to meet in future applications.
Ms Nicholas said although council did not have much control on issues like health and education, they would be working closely with the state government and local businesses on solutions.
"We need to advocate with the providers to ensure they know what's coming and can put some services in place to manage that influx," she said.
"But there won't be 300 houses in two years' time, it will be fairly staged.
Ms Bentley said the previous rezoning meant there was not much they could do to stop the development, but she would be following the issue closely.
"I'd be very appreciative if council started consulting with the community because they certainly haven't in the past," she said.
She believed managing the development well was vital for the future of Bright.
"All these issues are taking away from the beautiful ambience," she said.
"There's huge issues for the livability of the town. People will stop coming here."
Editor's note 8/7/2022: This story has been amended to clarify the council's development process regarding the development.
