Residential Precints

A variety of housing styles, densities and prices will be offered including garden apartments, villas, town houses, single detached houses, rural lots and medium density cluster houses, to accommodate a variety of demographic profiles. Each residential precinct will enjoy at least one of a variety of views including the vineyard, the golf course, across the oval, into mature vegetation along creek lines, and of the distant mountains and hills. Avoiding the ridgelines, screened from the surrounding roads and railway line by mounding, walls and landscaping, and folded into the undulations of the site, the precincts will enjoy separation and privacy from each other. The residential communities will be separated from the golf course and roads by buffer zones, open spaces are spread through each residential area and landmarks such as stone walls, planting and entry paving will identify precincts. Bushfire control measures include incorporation of Asset Protection Zones and the utilisation of the roads and the golf course as bushfire buffers.

Commercial and Retail

Two precincts will include commercial and retail areas. The first opportunity has been created to shape a significant ‘gateway experience’ adjacent to the Hunter Expressway’s primary entry and exit to the Wine Country that captures the essence of the Hunter Valley. The location, at the main entry point to Anvil Creek, is positioned to capture people arriving from Sydney or Newcastle, reinforce the rural ambience and announce their arrival at a special place.

In the centre of the site, lying between four of the major residential precincts, is the location for the second retail precinct. Surrounded by golf holes and adjacent to the vineyard, a magnificent oval originally built by the Army and now circled by large trees, is ideally positioned to include a retail area designed to service the needs of the Anvil Creek residents.

Signature Golf Course

The 18 hole, international standard, Graham Marsh designed golf course is an important component of the development. It promises to become one of the great golfing experiences in Australia.

Majestic northerly views from the Clubhouse down the 18th fairway and over the adjoining vineyards to the mountains, undulating land, creeks meandering through the course, large areas of vegetation and the low impact of the residential precincts, form the ideal framework for a classic golf course.

The plan for the course, which will play as two returning nines each with its own special character, has been woven along a natural line through valleys and hills, framed by significant retained and new indigenous planting. Every hole will have itsown unique qualities, providing different golfing experiences and outlooks. The clubhouse and resort accommodation are located in a key central position that provides panoramic views over the 18th fairway and vineyard to the mountains.

Click Here to read more about the Course from Graham Marsh

The Vineyard

The 20-hectare working vineyard establishes the character of the site as part of the Hunter Valley. The most suitable topography and soil types have determined its location, with soil studies indicating deposits of rich Lochinvar black earth suitable for wine production.

Education

The educational precinct allows for a variety of primary, secondary or tertiary educational uses. Landscaping of the internal entry to the precinct will differentiate it from other elements in the site and allowance has been made for a future dedicated entry to the northeast from Lovedale Road.

Landscape Masterplan

The Landscape Masterplan aims to connect the development with the environment, reinstating the site’s unique rural atmosphere. The landscape structure will form strong links between each development precinct and also to the Hunter region landscape through revegetation of indigenous woodland, restoration of creek lines and the retention of rural vistas.

The landscape will complement the significant cultural, social, archaeological and environmental areas within the site. Discrete landscape character zones, determined by the site’s forms and vegetation, will be connected by streets with native tree plantings. Each precinct will possess a landscape character signalling its particular land use and contributing to a coherent design across the site.

The plan also incorporates environmentally sustainable principles and water sensitive design, integrating development and landscape features with the existing landscape qualities and elements.

Infrastructure and Sustainability

Through integrated planning and management, Anvil Creek’s infrastructure and services will create the foundation for a special and environmentally responsible new community.

• Utilities
Service infrastructure will be designed to accommodate the development loads and connect to the public mains system as capacity and timing permits. Relevant service authorities have been consulted to determine the necessary offsite amplification works to provide for the required development loads.

• Energy Efficiency
Mainly north facing blocks, 80% with a 5-star Solar Access and Lot Orientation rating, can take advantage of passive heating which, when combined with building initiatives will lead to substantial energy savings. Energy efficiency measures have been calculated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 11,500 tonnes and collectively save residents over $1.5 million in electricity bills over 10 years.

• Water Management
An integrated drainage system will capture runoff from the golf course, roads and dwellings, filter the water via sediment traps and control ponds and release it back into the catchment. Stormwater will be managed and landscape design measures such as swales adjacent to kerbs will slow water flows.

Plants selected will require minimal irrigation and rainwater storage on residential lots will provide water for garden usage and toilet flushing, r educing demand by up to 50% and saving approximately 100 megalitres of potable water per year. The golf course will employ a computer controlled water delivery system to minimize water usage.

• Restoring Riparian Corridors/Wetlands
The project will facilitate the restoration of the degraded riparian corridors that will have beneficial flow-on effects for the entire catchment. The creek systems will be reinforced with indigenous plantings and appropriate landscape design will be used to reinterpret former creek vegetation. Weed control programs in and around infested tracks, gullies and riparian corridors will allow native vegetation to reestablish itself.

• Revegetation and Habitat Provision
The existing forest includes Central Hunter Riparian Forest; Lower Hunter Spotted Gum-Ironbark Forest; Central Hunter Ironbark–Spotted Gum-Grey Box Forest; Hunter Lowlands Red Gum Forest. It is intended that, wherever possible, the existing forests will be retained and enhanced using appropriate species to provide additional habitat for local fauna and threatened species including the Grey-crowned Babbler, Speckled Warbler, Squirrel Glider, Grey-headed Flying-fox, Eastern Bentwing bat, Little Bentwing bat and East-Coast Freetail bat.

Heritage Strategy

The Anvil Creek site has seen a significant and diverse range of uses including indigenous, convict and pastoral, but especially as a military and migrant camp. The architects have embraced this heritage, which is considered to be a valuable asset, and taken advantage of its significance through interpretation of the site’s history within the overall design.
In particular, elements of the camp layout are reflected in the design of some of the new residential precincts, which has created an inspired use of open space for the benefit of residents.

Celebrations of the site’s heritage are also incorporated in other components of the masterplan, including a community park that will provide a focal point for the thousands of migrant families who still feel a strong connection to the site.

Indigenous Heritage

An archaeological survey resulted in the documentation of various exposures of Aboriginal flaked stone artefacts. Studies undertaken through both borehole investigation and pit excavation indicate that the entire study area retains a very low occurrence of isolated finds in all landforms. The architects have ensured that the approved development is designed around each of the areas identified by the survey.