Alamora Community Masterplan

The Challenge

The Alamora site presented a distinctive design challenge: as former farmland, the land offered few inherent features to anchor a sense of place. With only a sparse scattering of trees across a wide, largely undifferentiated expanse, the design team could not rely on existing landscape character to drive the masterplan vision.

This context demanded a highly creative approach – one that could generate a compelling sense of place from the ground up while meeting Council requirements for unconventional road cross-sections and layout configurations. Non-standard design outcomes required robust justification and active stakeholder engagement to secure approval and bring the vision to life.
 

The Solution

A comprehensive masterplan for the Alamora Estate was developed and structured around distinct character precincts with a strong connectivity framework and innovative design outcomes.

Character Precincts

Central to the masterplan vision was the creation of distinct character precincts, each defined by a unique theme and anchored by a signature open space. The natural intersection of the boulevard connector and Hogans Road, combined with the placement of local parks, provided clear structure for defining these precincts – giving each neighbourhood a legible identity within the broader estate.

Connectivity and Movement Framework

Connectivity was the cornerstone of the design. The team prioritised pedestrian and cycling solutions throughout, with a focus on encouraging activity and movement across the entire estate. A key decision was the consolidation of open space on one side of the road reserve along the Boulevarde – linking the two Active Open Spaces and creating a linear park that runs the full length of the boulevard. This green promenade incorporates majestic canopy trees, dedicated cycle and shared paths and vibrant activity nodes.

A pivotal pedestrian loop was designed to connect all four precincts and local parks, providing a shared route that traverses diverse road and open space configurations. This loop minimises driveway crossovers on local roads, follows verdant greenlinks through rear-loaded residential zones and meanders through local parks to create a continuous, high-quality active travel network.

Non-Standard Design and Stakeholder Engagement

The innovative road cross-sections and strategic placement of the pedestrian loop represented uncharted territory in the local planning context. The team navigated this by facilitating critical meetings with Council and other stakeholders, presenting evidence-based justifications for the design approach and clearly articulating the community benefits of each non-standard element. This proactive engagement secured stakeholder support and expedited permit approvals, ensuring the vision could be realised without compromising design integrity.

Staged Delivery

Following the completion of the overarching masterplan, the team progressed to preparing permit applications for each individual stage of the estate. The Landscape team has remained engaged with Villawood on an ongoing basis, leading the theming, gateway treatments and landscaping across the full Alamora Estate to ensure the original design vision is realised at scale.

Outcomes

The Alamora masterplan has delivered a distinctive, community-focused estate that sets a new standard for residential development in the region:

• Properties within the initial stages of the estate are actively on the market, demonstrating the commercial success and market appeal of the design outcomes.
• The linear park along the Boulevarde and the connected pedestrian loop provide residents with a high-quality, integrated network of open space and active travel routes.
• Distinct character precincts give each neighbourhood a unique identity, contributing to a strong and cohesive sense of place across the broader estate.
• Veris’ ongoing collaboration with Villawood ensures the design vision continues to be realised across later stages, maintaining consistency in theming, landscaping and gateway treatments throughout the estate.
• The successful approval of non-standard road cross-sections and innovative design elements establishes a precedent for future residential developments in the area.