Kingston Council calls special meeting on controversial golf course land
As Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club prepares to leave its Dingley Village site, Kingston Council will decide whether or not rezone the land to allow a 760-house estate to be built.
Inner South
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KINGSTON councillors will decide on the hugely contentious rezoning application for the former Kingswood Golf Club land in Dingley Village this week.
Councillors George Hua, Ron Brownlees and Geoff Gledhill co-signed a notice, calling on a Special Meeting of Council to be held.
MASS OBJECTIONS TO HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
BATTLE LINES DRAWN OVER HUGE ESTATE
SNEAK PEEK INTO GOLF COURSE DEVELOPMENT
Kingston Mayor Steve Staikos said that the meeting will be livestreamed over the internet to ensure interested community members are able to easily view it.
“We received thousands of submissions about this proposed development through our public consultation process and know that there will be a lot of community members who will be interested in watching this discussion,”Cr Staikos said.
“We recommend watching the meeting live online, however limited seating will also be available in the public gallery.”
Kingston Council ran a six-week public consultation campaign in July and August and received more than 8,000 submissions, which is the largest number of submissions on a Planning Scheme Amendment proposal.
There are plans for 760 houses on the 53.4ha site but the land has to be rezoned first to allow residential development.
The Peninsula Kingswood Country Golf Club is preparing to leave the site and the gates will close to members on December 1, with settlement on the sale to take place on January 31.
Developer, ASRP1, bought the Kingswood course in September 2014 following the club’s decision to move.
Senior Development Manager for ASRP1, Anna Martiniello, said the club would keep groundskeepers on the site until the handover and then the gates would be locked.
“We are not golf course operators so the site will be locked for safety reasons,” Ms Martiniello said.
“It’s very disappointing for both us and the local community that we don’t yet have an agreed pathway forward for the land.”
“Our plans include more than 8 hectares of public open space, flood retention works for about 62,000m3 of stormwater, and a generous financial contribution to council to provide for playing fields and community infrastructure in Dingley Village,” she said.
However, objection to the development has been ongoing and vociferous with fears of a lack of schools, roads and sporting facilities, and the fact the site was flood prone.
The council could decide not to rule on the rezoning but establish an independent planning panel. Planning Minister Richard Wynne has the final say.
The Kingston Council meeting will be held on October 17 at 7pm.
It can be live-streamed for free online at: http://stream.kingston.vic.gov.au
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