Council approved stages three and four of the Gloucester Meadows subdivision, which could see as many as 27 new homes built, at its monthly meeting last Wednesday. 

The same development was rejected by council at its December meeting because the minimum lot size for some of the blocks was inconsistent with local planning legislation for the area. 

The developers sought a review of the initial determination and made some minor changes to the original plans accommodating the changes requested by council.

Nine residents living on nearby properties objected to the subdivision, on the grounds it was not in keeping with the stage one and two of the development. 

The original plans for the stages three and four included 24 properties.

Residents argued that plans for the subdivision shown to them when they purchased land in the estate had been altered significantly.  

Council’s manager of Planning and Environment Graham Gardener said such changes were permissible.

“The subdivision owner can have the plans modified or changed from the original plan in all sorts of ways,” he said.

Concerns were also raised by residents already living in the area about the loss of an unapproved dam in the centre of the new subdivision.

Councillors have opted to keep the dam subject to a safety inspection by a qualified engineer, voting against a recommendation by council staff to have it removed.

- Note: this article has been altered from the original after the Advocate learned some of the information in the story was factually incorrect.