Council overrides planners, blocks 36-townhouse plan
Moonee Valley City Council has refused a planning permit for a 36-townhouse development in Melbourne’s north-west.
At the Ordinary Council Meeting on Tuesday, councillors unanimously agreed to override the recommendation of their planning officers for the Niddrie proposal.
DM Property with joint venture partner Ark Capital sought to clear the 5354 square metre site at 67 Nolan Street – currently occupied by a single-storey brick home – to construct two and three-storey townhouses across 12 layout designs.
Four boundary canopy trees would be removed for the subdivision.
Council received 158 objections from residents across 151 properties.
Parking, congestion, traffic, scale
A formal consultation meeting last month failed to resolve disputes; opponents raised concerns regarding parking, congestion, pedestrian safety, and scale.
While council planning officers supported the project under state planning exemptions within the Housing Choice and Transport Zone, councillors voted to issue a Notice of Refusal, citing technical and site-specific grounds.
Council’s Traffic and Transport unit led internal objections, warning zero-visitor-parking paired with minimum-width shared private driveways presented operational risks.
Technical assessments added the lack of dedicated turnaround areas would force service, delivery, and emergency vehicles to reverse down narrow corridors (continues below).
Officers said forcing pedestrians, vehicles, and private waste trucks to share single accessways created ongoing safety hazards, particularly given the site’s 10-metre gradient.
State planners vs council in premier’s seat
The $82 million Niddrie proposal was lodged under Labor government planning reforms designed to accelerate medium-density housing.
The land sits within the state’s Housing Choice and Transport Zone (HCTZ2), a residential overlay aimed at creating compact, walkable communities near key commercial hubs and public transport routes.
Under the Townhouse and Low-Rise Code, developments that satisfy key statutory metrics under Clause 55 trigger streamlined assessment pathways, restricting local councils from evaluating broader neighbourhood character or general policy frameworks.
Also affecting the Niddrie site, recent policy adjustments removed minimum visitor parking requirements for certain multi-dwelling sites in designated activity catchments.
DM Property now has 60 days to decide whether to redesign the project and try council again, or try the application with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
The developer paid $5.61 million for the site in December 2025.
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