Council & Business
6 February, 2026
Development raises social concerns
A prominent local critic of a proposed community housing development in Maryborough has said he’s skeptical the social impact has been considered.
Maryborough’s Garry Higgins OAM, who has been a driving force behind many local projects over the years, has criticised the transparency of a proposed community housing development on Sebastopol Road.
The planning application proposes a 34 dwelling development which, when complete, will be run by a registered community housing provider offering long term tenancy leases to those with very low to moderate incomes.
According to the proposal’s documentation the development aims to deliver affordable housing close to jobs, transport and services.
However, the specifics of who the provider is and how it will work remains unknown.
The owner and developer Justin Crameri, director of JCP Property Pty Ltd, told The Maryborough District Advertiser the development is designed for local people.
“To be very clear, this development is designed for everyday local people — teachers, nurses, retail and hospitality workers, downsizers, and other key workers who already live and work in the Central Goldfields Shire and are the backbone of the community,” he said.
He also said he wasn’t authorised to comment on any potential purchase or the parties involved.
“When there’s something to announce, I’m confident it will be communicated properly,” he said.
The resulting uncertainty, Mr Higgins said, means he’s not confident the development’s social impact has been thought through.
“Being an untitled project, it really adds to that uncertainty about the impact of the project on the community,” he said.
“You can’t make a really good judgement on it until you know.”
Mr Higgins said the social impact should be assessed by a subject matter expert similar to other areas of the development like waste management and traffic impact.
“When you’re dealing with disadvantage it’s probably more important than an environmental impact study because the social impacts are affecting real people who are already under the hammer,” he said.
“Are we going to make it harder because the services will be more strained? You don’t know when you don’t know who it’s aimed at.”
Ahead of the planning application being considered by council in early 2026 Mr Higgins hopeswhat it means for the development’s future residents and wider community will be considered.
“I would be urging our council, and the developer, to sit down and work their way through the social impact,” he said.
“Perhaps a different model would be far more appropriate.”