by Cam Lucadou-Wells
Kingston Council has slammed a controversial draft development plan for 941 homes on the former Kingswood Golf Course in Dingley Village.
In coming weeks, Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny is expected to rule on developer Satterley Property Group’s plan for a mix of detached homes and townhouses of two to three storeys, including townhouse lots as narrow as 4.5 metres.
Many of 1400-plus community submissions object to the plan – which seeks an 18 per cent increase on previous owner AustralianSuper’s contentious pitch for 800 lots.
Kingston mayor Georgina Oxley called for a “more balanced and better thought-out plan” that “protects the area’s vegetation and unique character”.
She said the “major development” was in the “heart of Dingley Village, which was never planned to have its golf course redeveloped”.
“It requires very careful planning every step of the way.”
The council’s concerns included the removal of significant native vegetation and trees, errors in the plan and technical documents and stormwater issues on the flood-prone site.
It also noted “unclear” design guidelines for new homes, missing pedestrian links to the shopping precinct and “weak” commitment to affordable housing for teachers and nurses.
Under the plan, “useable” open space comprises 20 per cent of the 49.5 hectares of “developable land” – not including water bodies and drainage works.
Satterley “voluntarily” lifted the affordable housing quota to 10 per cent – or 94 homes.
A state-appointed golf course redevelopment committee noted flooding concerns needed to be addressed.
Currently, without development, more than 80 homes downstream of the golf course are at risk of flooding in a 1-in-100 event.
In response, Satterley submitted a plan for an estimated 80-90 megalitres of storage to mitigate flooding.
This would be achieved by expanding the Melbourne Water retarding basin from 19 megalitres to 65 megalitres, and buliding two other retarding basins totalling about 24 megalitres.
Poulter says other flood controls however would be destroyed including an aquifer, “hundreds of kilometres of drains”, the greens “soak” and a dam that would be “built on”.
“Our easily confirmed data shows that Melbourne Water and the developer are half a billion litres short in their calculations.
“Until this was exposed, Melbourne Water and apparently the developer were totally unaware of the tsunami to come.”
Melbourne Water has yet to publicly endorse Satterley’s flood mitigation controls.
Dingley Village Community Association spokesperson Leigh Gridley said it had unsuccessfully sought to meet with Kilkenny to “significantly reduce” the housing denisity. It felt “left out of the conversation”.
Kingston councillor Caroline White said “the community has been incredibly clear – this proposal as it stands is not right for Dingley Village”.
“They want development that fits the area, protects what locals love, and doesn’t overload already stretched services.”
AustralianSuper bought the site for a purported $125 million in 2014, divesting it to Satterley last year.
The estate would include lower-priced townhouses for first home buyers and larger housing on smaller blocks for younger families with “immaculately landscaped open spaces”, chief executive Nigel Satterley said at the time.
