Council, at a special meeting in Stawell, accepted a recommendation for an 11 lot subdivision in Royston Road. The land is located one kilometre south of the Halls Gap village centre.

Cr Kevin Erwin described the subdivision as a very good one for Halls Gap.

``It meets all the requirements of council and gives a variation in lot sizes,'' he said.

``All the conditions that have been placed on the permit are fair and reasonable and all in all, I think we will see a very good outcome from this development.''

Cr Robyn Smith said when the application was first lodged, she did have concerns about the size of the lots, but they have been addressed.

``In this day and age, smaller lots are now being considered for various reasons, upkeep being one,'' Cr Smith said.

``Even those people out there who are only entitled to a 50% Rescode coverage, they will still be able to build a 360 square metre home. I don't think there are too many homes out there of that size.

``When the plans come up for buildings on these blocks, seriously I don't think it will look too bad at all. I'm sure people will do the right thing and plant natives.

``I'm really looking forward to it. I think it is good compared to some of the previous developments that we have approved out there because we were bound by Rescode rules.

``We have more of a say now and we can do better building envelopes and we should actually end up with quite a good development.''

Cr Ian Nicholson said it was obvious the applicants had done their homework when planning the subdivision.

``They realise Halls Gap is a growth area. People do say it is driven by tourism, but this is a good development for Halls Gap,'' he said.

``Halls Gap is an area that one could say has looked a bit untidy over a number of years. This is definitely going to make the area better sight wise for people of Halls Gap.

``It is also going to provide an area in which people can develop.''

Mayor Cr Bryan Small supported the subdivision and said while the question had been raised as to whether or not the development should be ten or eleven lots, it should in no way be driven by profit.

``Several councillors I know have been contacted by the owner of the site, regarding whether ten lots would be profitable for them or not,'' he said.

``It's not a matter of whether or not ten or eleven lots is profitable, it's really a matter of whether it's good planning. It is not our concern if a development is going to be profitable for any one party.

``I look at this solely on planning grounds and I see no problem with eleven lots. I think the good part about it is the very large road reserve and buffer area of bushland between it and Grampians Road.''

Cr Small said with regard to the future use of Royston Road, it would be a matter for council's planning staff to be involved in ongoing discussions with the owner of the land.

``We do have the opportunity to discuss that with them and perhaps approve a different alignment for that actual road,'' he said.