‘We don’t want it, go away’: Government to fight for controversial development at VCAT

Almost 40,000 Aussies have rallied to save a cherished landmark as the government tries to push through a development in a community that doesn’t appear to want it.

Almost 40,000 Victorians and a local council are rallying in a last-minute push to save a cherished lake as the state government looks to force through plans for a suburban subdivision.

In December 2022, Knox City Council denied two planning permit applications to develop the ‘Knoxfield’ housing project on an old dam site known as Lake Knox.

The applicant, Development Victoria, has declared its plan to challenge this decision later this month at the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal.

Early renders for the Lake Knox site’s proposed dwellings.

The council rejected planning permit applications for the 19.2 hectare area at the junction of Burwood Highway and Scoresby Road. It cited concerns about the impact of the development on a site of biological importance and potential damage to vulnerable and endangered species.

According to the Development Victoria website, the development plans to offer up 416 townhomes and a new wetlands it says will “provide a safe and healthy future for local wildlife”.

A preliminary plan for the Knoxfield development. Picture: Knox City Council

Knox City Council denied two planning permit applications to develop the Knoxfield housing project on an old dam site known as Lake Knox. Picture: Google

A council statement in response to Development Victoria's February decision to challenge read, “Council’s grounds for refusal included the impact of the proposals on a site of biological significance, including impacts on the Blue-billed Duck and potential impact on the Dwarf Galaxais fish.”

“Other grounds included the proposed extensive removal of native vegetation, failing to provide an appropriate or active interface to Scoresby Road and the extent of the residential subdivision encroaching into the designated Mixed Use area of the Comprehensive Development Plan.”

The community has spent years opposing developments for the lake.

Community members have been fighting the development since 2018 and the council received more than 1170 objections to the proposals at the time of its December decision, though it cited its own consultants for the refusal.

However, later this month, Development Victoria – the state’s development arm which acquired the land in 2018 – will have its case heard by VCAT.

Development Victoria is asking VCAT to rule on the applications lodged to Knox City Council per the Victorian Planning Scheme provisions, thus overturning the council’s decision.

A Development Victoria spokesperson told news.com.au, “as the matter is before the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) it would be inappropriate to comment.”

Locals keen on preserving the dam site they’ve affectionately come to know as Lake Knox over the decades have lashed out with a petition directly addressed to Premier Daniel Andrews, demanding the government not build the new housing estate “right in the middle of unique and fragile ecosystems.”

It has so far garnered over 37,000 signatures, representing a significant chunk of the outer Melbourne municipality’s 159,404 residents.

Blue-billed ducks at Lake Knox have flourished in the ecosystem.

‘No, we don’t want it, go away’

Lead petitioner Mark Glazebrook from the Knox Environment Society has spent years lobbying for the lake. Dr Glazebrook told news.com.au how the community’s delight at the council’s refusal quickly turned to “disgust” when it was revealed the government would be challenging the decision.

“We were absolutely delighted to hear that council, in its own way, without any direct influence or lobbying, made an independent decision based on the local planning scheme that the development just didn’t meet their standards,” he said.

“We were disgusted that the government, in a time when they’re in so much debt, would spend all this money fighting its own community.”

Concerned community members were offered a chance at consultation in the development’s early stages, but a “no speaking to media” condition, according to Dr Glazebrook, was a deal-breaker for most.

At the time, he told The Age: “It felt like North Korea to me, it felt very controlling.”

Dr Glazebrook said the old dam site had become a critical and “gold standard” ecosystem in its own right.

Another local campaign is underway, this time to challenge the government at VCAT. Picture: supplied

“The blue-bill duck has recently started to breed successfully (in Lake Knox), and according to biologists, that’s the gold standard and shows they really are happy,” he said.

“During Covid it became one of those havens for people to go and see wildlife upfront, get out of their houses and enjoy nature.”

“The community has never had an issue with more housing, but we don’t believe the bulk of the property needs to become housing, and we disagree with their plan to impact the lake and build presiding ponds.”

Knox Environment Society has resorted to selling seedlings and crowdfunding to fund its legal representation at VCAT.

He said many in the community were baffled by the government’s persistence in pushing through such an unwanted project.

“They’re basically pushing this on a community who, all the way along, has said “no, we don’t want it, go away,” Dr Glazebrook lamented.

The group hopes to legally challenge the Victorian Government at the VCAT hearing with a range of expert witnesses later this month, though Dr Glazebrook concedes the group is so far vastly underfunded.

It has resorted to selling seedlings and crowdfunding to fund its representation.

Originally published as ‘We don’t want it, go away’: Government to fight for controversial development at VCAT