Webster is aware that property development is often seen as purely commercial. She does not dismiss that perception, but she does challenge its limits. “I think it has to change,” she says. “Communities expect more from developments now, and rightly so.” In her view, the role has expanded. “We are increasingly responsible not just for delivering housing, but for shaping places where people genuinely want to live and connect.”

That responsibility is also social. A number of homes at Middleton Field have been created in partnership with Women’s Property Initiatives. “It’s something I’m incredibly proud of,” she says. “Safe and secure housing changes lives.” She pauses on the significance of that. “Knowing that part of the project contributes to long-term housing outcomes for women in need gives the development and community a much deeper sense of purpose.”

As Middleton Field evolves, Webster is attentive to how it will sit within Daylesford itself. She references a recent collaboration with the local RSL to install a monument commemorating those from the region who died in World War I. For her, these gestures help anchor the place in history as it changes.

“I’m excited to see it become part of what makes Daylesford so special,” she says.

Her thinking is shaped by time spent on land and an understanding that landscapes do not arrive complete. “Living on a farm has completely changed the way I think about development,” she says. “It’s taught me that healthy landscapes are built over time through care, biodiversity and working with nature.”

Buildings, she adds, are only part of the picture. “I’m very conscious that landscapes are just as important as the buildings themselves.”

Looking ahead, she is less interested in transformation than in settling. “I hope Middleton Field feels like it has always belonged there,” she says. “That the trees have softened the streets, the landscapes have become alive with birds and seasons.”

Then she narrows it further. “More than anything, I hope it feels deeply human,” she says. “A place where people know their neighbours, children grow up connected to nature, and the development becomes less about what was built and more about the life that grew around it.”

The Village, Middleton Field

17 Smith Street, Daylesford

thevillagedaylesford.com.au

STORY BY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

PHOTOS BY KAIYA RAE