Big housing development set to grow Warrnambool's population by 50 per cent

The Victorian planning minister has approved a new residential precinct for Warrnambool that would create about 4,500 new homes, plus schools and a town centre. The local mayor says it would add almost 50 per cent to the regional city's population. What's next? The development is expected to take up to 25 years to reach completion. A regional city struggling with a housing crisis is expected to grow its population by almost 50 per cent thanks to state government-approval of a new residential area. The East of Aberline project in Warrnambool in south-west Victoria is expected to add 4,500 new homes, as well as schools and a town centre over the next two decades, boosting the city's population by 15,000 people. Located at the end of the Great Ocean Road, Warrnambool is Victoria's largest coastal regional city, and currently home to 36,000 people, with previous projections that it grow to 43,000 residents by 2031. The development would be the largest single expansion in Warrnambool since it was planned and surveyed in 1845. Over the past decade, the city's population has grown by 2,250, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The city has long struggled with a housing shortage and as of 2026, the local council said the city had a rental vacancy rate of 0.8 per cent. On Friday, Victorian Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny approved the East of Aberline Precinct structure plan. Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) documents show the development in the city's east spanned 407 hectares, and would include community facilities, a supermarket, retail shops, parks, and new schools, as well as walking and cycling paths. A Victorian government spokesperson told the ABC, construction would begin in one year, and the development would gradually progress over 15 to 25 years. Warrnambool City Council welcomed the approval, and mayor Ben Blain said the development would see a 50 per cent population increase, or the equivalent of adding a small town to the city. "It's going to be about the size of Colac, on the edge of Warrnambool there," he said. Cr Blain said the council had worked closely with the government on the development, and continued to advocate for improved council facilities to allow for sustainable growth. He said the precinct plan included a range of different housing options, including dwellings with one and two-bedroom homes. "It's so important that we can have more housing diversity across Warrnambool, and that's a really exciting part of this plan," Cr Blain said.