By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
KEYSBOROUGH Golf Club will seek to carve its green-wedge course into a housing estate as part of a proposed windfall sale to a property developer.
On 29 June, 85 per cent of members voted in favour of the deal with developer Intrapac, which is expected to yield $40 million for the club and its shareholders.
As part of the deal, the club would move from its 60-year home to a yet to be built golf course and training centre about 2.5 kilometres away at 256-356 Pillars Road.
The proposal is certain to attract controversy; it hinges on the club’s existing 76-hectare site on Springvale and Hutton roads being rezoned from green wedge by the State Government.
The government has a publicly-stated intent to preserve the current urban growth boundary.
Under Greater Dandenong Council’s green wedge management plan, the council’s preferred use for the land is recreational, sport or rural residential.
The minimum subdivision size is a capacious four hectares.
“It’s far from a fait accompli,” says club captain Darrell Swindells.
“It is probably an eight to 10-year project but there’s no promise the rezoning will happen.
“If it can be done, we’ve got a good opportunity to make the golf club immune from financial stress for many future generations.”
Greater Dandenong’s Councillor Peter Brown said he would back rezoning the golf course as well as nearby green wedge land south of Hutton Road.
“People are sitting on a gold mine and can’t realise their assets.
“One thing I’d say to the greenies is that if rezoning was to occur as it occurred with the Somerfield and Crystal Waters estates is that 10-20 per cent of it would be public open space.
“The council would also have to work very closely (with the developer) to ensure the protection of the fantastic trees on the site.”
Piret Cantwell, who neighbours the current course, says she’ll fight the proposal which would dramatically alter her picturesque surrounds.
“I am very keen to ensure the urban growth boundary remains as is. That is the reason we moved here 11 years ago.
“The golf club has a significant number of mature trees and is the home to magnificent wildlife and it would be devastating if this was destroyed.”
Defenders of the South-East Green Wedge secretary Barry Ross feared the move could set an unwanted precedent to carve up the region’s green wedge.
“Once you let one (project) go, there’s a domino effect.”
He said the golf course was a “nice part of the world” with “wonderful river redgums and Aboriginal scar trees”.
“The fact that it’s there makes people feel good.”
Mr Ross said it was “intriguing” that Intrapac had failed to mention plans for a golf course on a planning application to resubdivide the proposed Pillars Road site.
Intrapac has applied to the council to re-subdivide 116.5 hectares of green-wedge agricultural land into four blocks, including a 74-hectare ‘Lot 4’ that the Journal believes is earmarked for the golf club.
It argues the new layout will provide opportunity for “sustainable farming activities” and for a “broader range of agricultural activities … especially on proposed lot 4”.
