Fast-Tracked Keysborough Project to Deliver 164 Homes

A $56-million residential development at Keysborough has been waved ahead by the Victorian Government despite objections by the Greater Dandenong Council.

Planning minister Sonya Kilkenny this week recommended approval through the state government’s Development Facilitation Program for the Peet Keysborough project comprising 164 double-storey townhouses at 182 Chapel Road, 27km south-east of the Melbourne CBD.

Despite the objections, Kilkenny said the state had fast-tracked the homes “because the only way to make housing fairer for young Victorians is to build more homes faster”.

The scheme is a significant uplift from a 101-townhouse permit granted by VCAT in 2022 for the same 4.1ha site that Peet reportedly paid $25 million for in 2020.

Peet Keysborough submitted the revised application directly to the minister in early June, with no public notice required before approval.

The development will deliver five two-bedroom homes, 111 three-bedroom homes and 48 four-bedroom homes across an L-shaped site wrapping around the historic 148-year-old Keysborough Methodist Church.

Designed by MPS Architects, two parklands will also be created—one next to Chapel Road and the other within the estate.

At least 10 per cent of homes will be provided as affordable housing for sale or lease to a registered housing agency or Homes Victoria.

▲ A rendering of a home in the approved Keysborough development.

Construction must begin within three years and complete within five years of permit issue.

A planning department report said the Greater Dandenong Council had raised “significant concerns” over lack of internal and external amenity, alongside traffic and public open space access issues.

The average lot size of 166sq m falls well below the council’s development plan aim for 200 to 300sq m per lot.

The council reportedly said the proposed development was “an overdevelopment of the site which will not provide good quality housing”.

Peet’s broader residential development pipeline includes a $6.7-billion masterplanned community at Flagstone in South-East Queensland, which would ultimately deliver 12,000 homes for 30,000 residents.

The developer has also filed plans for a 1629-home precinct on former University of Canberra land at Bruce in the ACT, comprising 311 townhouses and 1318 apartments with a gross sales value of more than $2.3 billion.