Plan to redevelop ‘outdated’ Eltham war memorial site fall through

The future of an “outdated” Eltham site remains unclear, after Nillumbik Council’s bid to attract developers failed. The council is still left searching for a solution to revitalise the area.

895, 903-907 Main Rd in Eltham will remain untouched by developers, but the community is calling for upgrades to the “outdated” site.

A World War II memorial and a preschool in Eltham will remain safe from developers for now, but Nillumbik Council is still left searching for a solution to improve the “outdated” site.

The council revealed on May 20 negotiations with developers had ceased for the land at 895, 903-907 Main Rd in Eltham, also known as the old Eltham Shire office site.

Mayor Karen Egan said “market conditions and funding difficulties” resulted in no feasible outcome.

“Changed market conditions including a fall in property prices across the state, tighter lending requirements following the Financial Services Royal Commission and the distance from the CBD all played a part in the project’s feasibility,” she said.

“We’ve always said that this process was testing the market and no decision on the sites’ future had been made.”

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Cr Peter Clarke said the council would need to continue to look at ways to revitalise the site, which occupies buildings “no longer fit for purpose”.

“Council is facing the same issues we started with,” he said.

“We will now need to address the issues around the existing outdated buildings that no longer meet contemporary service needs or standards and how we can accommodate these services moving forward.”

Cr Clarke said the senior citizens building was not compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act, while Eltham Preschool was “too small” and could no longer cope with demand.

“We have upgraded a lot of other community infrastructure, so we need to decide on how we do that to this site going forward,” he said.

While the Eltham District Historical Society celebrated the outcome, it also called for urgent improvements to the site.

“We are very pleased to see the Eltham War Memorial Buildings complex is no longer under immediate threat from any proposed redevelopment,” president Jim Connor said.

“We encourage the council to now restore and improve this complex to provide functional community facilities to continue to honour the intent of the original reasons these buildings were constructed.”

The Eltham community reacted strongly when Nillumbik Council revealed plans last year to revitalise the old Eltham Shire office site. Picture: George Salpigtidis

The council started asking for expressions of interest from potential parties interested in developing 895, 903-907 Main Rd in September last year.

The council received 14 expressions of interest from possible developers — of those, five were asked to proceed to the request for proposal stage.

Closing of negotiations ended months of uncertainty for parents and neighbours connected to Eltham Preschool, who feared they would be forced to relocate if developers acquired the land.

Eltham Preschool Parent Advisory Group chair Sarah Mackintosh told the Leader in March she feared the kinder would be forced to relocate if plans to develop the site went ahead.

“We’re really local to everything, so the kids can do walking tours, and no one has the grounds we have — it will be very difficult to replicate these sorts of grounds anywhere else,” she said.

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