Tulliallan Estate neighbours fighting developer over plans to build 138 homes on green space
Furious residents in Melbourne’s southeast are fighting plans to build 138 homes on land earmarked for sports fields, with a Supreme Court showdown now brewing between the developer and Casey Council.
South East
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Furious Casey residents are fighting a developer’s plans to build 138 homes on land earmarked as public open space.
And a Supreme Court showdown is brewing between developer Konann and Casey Council over the plans.
Konann wants to build on the Cranbourne North land depicted as soccer and cricket fields in the council’s structure plan and which locals say was marketed as future sports grounds when they bought their nearby homes.
The developer’s application is the latest move in a five-year tussle with the council over the 6.8ha parcel of land at 185S Alisma Boulevard in Tulliallan Estate.
Casey planning advisor Nicola Ward, in a report, said Konann received a permit to subdivide land to build the estate in 2014.
Ms Ward said an application process loophole — which was closed in 2015 — meant the council legally had to allow the development despite not reaching an outcome on the disputed land.
She said the council had since tried to buy the land for $15.48 million — the most it could offer without impacting on other projects — but failed as Konann insisted the land value was worth “roughly double” the amount.
Ms Ward said when an application to subdivide the 6.8ha into 132 lots in 2015 was refused, Konann made a compensation claim against the council and Planning Minister, arguing the land should not have been reserved for public use without a public acquisition overlay.
The matter reached the Supreme Court, but Konann withdrew its claim in March last year.
Dozens of neighbours who spoke to the Leader said they were “disheartened” by the developer’s conduct as they bought into the estate with the promise of sporting fields, which was included in all marketing brochures by RPM Real Estate (on behalf of the developer) at the time.
Residents of Tulliallan Community Action Group spokeswoman Rebecca Hyland said neighbours were prepared to “fight for their land” as the extra homes would have disastrous effects on the community.
“More homes means more stress on the land, roads and the Tulliallan primary school, which already has more than 1000 children enrolled next year … this is massive for a primary school,” Ms Hyland said.
“When people buy land, particularly smaller blocks in estates, there’s a promise of green space for public use and we want what was promised to us.”
Amey Rountree said the proposed development would have a “detrimental impact” on the community and disadvantage current and future generations in the area.
“In building new communities in greenfield growth areas, it is critical that we get the right infrastructure in place from the beginning,” Ms Rountree said.
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The group has started a change.org petition, which has gathered more than 1200 signatures, and lodged a complaint to the ACCC about marketing claims made in the brochures advertising sporting grounds.
Casey Council manager growth and investment Kathryn Seirlis said the council couldn’t approve a planning application as it was contrary to the approved structure plan.
She said the most recent permit application was scheduled to be heard at VCAT in September.
“Given the land is subject to current VCAT proceedings, it would be inappropriate for (the) council to comment further on this matter at this point in time,” she said.