By CASEY NEILL
BANGHOLME residents have welcomed a decision to preserve a 3.4 square kilometre green wedge zone.
But the City of Greater Dandenong is disappointed that its request to have the area zoned for urban growth was not met.
Planning Minister Matthew Guy announced on Tuesday, 16 April, that a State Government urban growth boundary review would see the border expanded to include eight hectares in Springvale South, but not the Bangholme Precinct.
Eumemmerring Creek, Frankston-Dandenong Road, Harwood Road and EastLink bound the area, and Mr Guy said changing it from green wedge to urban growth zoning would be “a major change in established policy”.
Bangholme Rural Land Holders Association (BRLHA) president Alan Hood commended the “logical decision”.
He said the proposed change had been a multi-million dollar money-grab by developers, which controlled about 24 per cent of the area.
“I thought this case was a lost cause,” he said.
“This gives certainty – farmers can go on farming, developers can play predator on someone else.”
In December 2011 the Star reported that the land was included in a council submission to Mr Guy to fix Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) anomalies.
This followed a motion from councillor Peter Brown arguing that it should be moved into the UGB because industrial land surrounded it on three sides.
“I am disappointed we haven’t been successful in achieving all of the council’s requested changes,” Greater Dandenong Mayor Angela Long said.
“The full report will provide us with a clearer picture behind the Minister’s decision.”
Mr Hood, whose property bounds the site, condemned the request at the time and said residents were not consulted and did not have an opportunity to reject the proposal.
“In putting that motion up on the night we weren’t able to explain the area is flood prone and we only have two access roads on the site,” he said.
“We’re living in a farming environment which would suddenly be carrying masses of trucks and commercial vehicles.”
Mr Guy this week said the Bangholme Precinct’s future “would be better considered in the City of Greater Dandenong’s Green Wedge Review”.
The council’s city planning, design and amenity director Jody Bosman said nearly 30 per cent of the municipality’s land was green wedge and work on a management plan for the area was underway.
He said the plan would be prepared with input from a range of affected stakeholders and would guide local planning policies, overlay controls and land management.
“It is important that the strategy identifies a vision, objectives and actions for the sustainable development and management of the municipality’s green wedge into the future,” he said.
