New office block for Werribee

A proposal to build a three-storey office block in Werribee has been approved by Wyndham council.

The plan includes a building with nine office tenancies, two lifts, a cafe and an underground car park for 91 vehicles, to be built on vacant land at 18-20 Princes Highway.

The estimated cost of the development is $4.92 million.

As it is in Werribee’s Activity Centre Zone, the proposal did not have to be advertised for public consultation. But in July Wyndham council sent out courtesy letters to alert neighbouring property owners of the potential development, including to homes in Manta Court, Bailey Street and Wattle Avenue.

After the council received two objections to the proposal, they approved the application “under delegation”.

This means it did not get heard at a public council meeting.

The council usually only hears planning applications which attract more than 15 or more public submissions or objections at council meetings.

During September, Wyndham council approved updated plans for the office block which showed cars entering and exiting the property would do so via Wattle Avenue.

City West Water, VicRoads and Powercor have all given the proposal a stamp of approval.

It is expected to be completed next year.

A real estate advertising sign at the site says it would suit a government or “larger” tenant.

In addition, the sign says about 36,000 vehicles pass by the land on a daily basis and that it offers tenants an opportunity to secure a “landmark position” in one of Australia’s fastest growing municipalities.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics released new figures last month that showed Wyndham had the third-highest increase in population among Australian municipalities in the 2015-16 financial year.

The ABS data shows there were 222,656 people living in Wyndham at June 30 last year, an increase of 5.7 per cent on the previous 12 months.