THE State Government’s new planning guidelines have been met with a mixed response by Hume residents and councillors.

Last week Planning Minister Justin Madden announced guidelines for high-growth areas in Victoria that encourage the development of more tightly-packed houses on smaller blocks - proposing 15 houses per hectare.

Greenvale Residents Association president Charlie Grech said the plans were “hypocritical”, while Hume City Council appears to be on-side with Mr Madden, although with some reservations.

Mr Madden said the planning guidelines would meet the needs of growing communities by providing affordable housing and easy access to schools, businesses and community centres.

“This is not just about building houses – it is about creating a real community where people can raise their children, work and become proud of,” he said.

But some residents groups are not convinced by the guidelines, expressing concerns about the standard of high-density housing.

Mr Grech said: “The government is a bit hypocritical on these guidelines. The decision to cut urban sprawl comes quite a few years too late.”

“I don’t think the government should be too rigid on density. There are a lot of sub-standard developments with narrow roads and no footpaths around the place. It’s like living in rabbit warrens.

“The developments should not be approved for the sake of fitting houses into a square. Residents still want a lifestyle, people need to breathe.”

Mr Grech said development should occur radially out from the CBD or development centres.

“Moving straight up a corridor, such as Hume Highway, is inefficient and requires more sprawled out government infrastructure.”

Hume mayor Jack Ogilvie told Mr Madden on Thursday that the urban growth boundary should align with natural and physical boundaries, but said his meeting with the minister was “very positive”.

“The minister indicated he would consider our submissions and report back to us in the near future,” he said.

Hume’s director of sustainability David Keenan was positive about the new guidelines.

“The first review indicates that the guidelines appear to strike the right balance between documenting the principles for developing vibrant sustainable communities and specifying how to do this,” he said.

Sunbury Residents Association member Bernie O’Farrell agreed with the principles of the guidelines but said the marketplace would quickly decide whether the housing plans were feasible.

“I support the concept of it but I don’t think it should be imposed on developers,” he said.

“If there’s not much demand for the product then it’s probably not a good idea.”

“If there is demand for one-person apartments in the area then they should be provided.

Mr O’Farrell said congestion was not so much an issue in Sunbury, but the lack of facilities to support a growing population was a problem.

Hume had a population of 162,260 last year and had a 2.5 per cent growth rate.