Heritage rich Morpeth is under siege from developers who have tested Maitland City Council with various plans and proposals in recent weeks.
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The plans target the village fringes, overlooking rural land, assessed against the ageing Morpeth Management Plan.
“There’s an unresolved issue on the edges of Morpeth and council might need to revise this plan,” Hill Top Planners director Richard Bennett said.
“They’re experiencing pressure on the edges of the village.”
But council has defended the plan it adopted 15 years ago.
“The Morpeth Management Plan is an important part of council’s decision-making framework for development in and around Morpeth,” council urban growth manager Ian Shillington said.
“The MMP forms the basis of the development control plan provisions for the Morpeth Heritage Conservation Area.”
One of its main concerns is to protect the character of the town and sight lines between it and the rural surroundings.
In the past month, council has considered three developments that threaten the village amenity.
Councillors upheld a planning proposal to rezone 30 Swan Street, that overlooks the Hunter River, from rural to residential for future development.
But across town on the southern fringe council refused plans for a seniors’ village with up to 250 villas off Duke Street.
Council officers said development of that site would be to the detriment of Morpeth and its rural village setting.
The proposal also clashed with past planning studies undertaken to investigate and identify the physical limits of development at Morpeth.
A third proposal asked council to include the Morpeth Bowling Club grounds, on the south-east corner of the village, in the Maitland Urban Settlement Strategy.
Morpeth Land Company had asked that council consider the land for residential use, but it failed to find support from council officers and was withdrawn from the meeting.
Mr Shillington said the Morpeth Management Plan remained relevant despite these apparent inconsistencies across the village.
“Morpeth is elevated above surrounding agricultural land and river flats and has a very strong connection to the rural surrounds,” he said.
“The MMP and Development Control Plan aim to preserve significant views along streets, between buildings and open land at the axis of streets.”