What to know about Lara
- Lara had 6,843 private dwellings in the 2021 Census. 89.5% of occupied dwellings were separate houses and 43.5% had four or more bedrooms.Source: ABS 2021 Census QuickStats, Lara
- Hovells Creek runs through the centre of Lara and can split the town in two during floods. The largest flood on record was in December 1988, and flooding is common in November and February.Source: VICSES, Lara Local Flood Guide
- In the low density precinct around Curletts Road, Forest Road North, Osterlund Court and Windermere Road (DDO34), the stated aim is to retain the rural-edge feel of Lara.Source: Greater Geelong Planning Scheme, Schedule 34 to the Design and Development Overlay
- Lara West is a growth area planned under the Lara West Precinct Structure Plan and applied through Urban Growth Zone Schedule 6.Source: Greater Geelong Planning Scheme, Schedule 6 to the Urban Growth Zone
What to know before landscaping in Lara
Lara is mostly family homes on generous blocks: in 2021 almost nine in ten occupied dwellings were separate houses. Its planning policy aims to keep the town's rural character, and in the low density precinct around Curletts Road and Windermere Road the overlay's stated aim is to retain the rural-edge feel of Lara. Open fencing, native shelter planting and large lawns suit that setting.
Hovells Creek and drainage
Hovells Creek runs through the middle of town, and VICSES notes it can split Lara in two in a flood, with floods most common in November and February (Lara Local Flood Guide). On blocks near the creek, keep overland flow paths clear, avoid walls and garden beds that dam water against the house and use permeable surfaces where you can.
Soils on the basalt plains
Soil surveys of the plains around Lara describe alkaline cracking clays and red clay-rich soils with very low permeability in the subsoil. In practice that means heavy ground that cracks in summer and drains slowly in winter: raised beds, plenty of organic matter and drainage behind any retaining wall all help.
Lara West
New homes in the Lara West growth area are landscaping from scratch. Check your estate guidelines and contract of sale before planting the nature strip or building front fences.
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