Eaglemont residents fight off planned development
Eaglemont residents have hit out at development plans by the family of Cedar Meats bosses, saying the proposed project would spell the “beginning of the end’’ for their leafy suburb — and they will fight to stop it.
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Residents of a leafy eastern suburb are fighting a proposed development by the family of Cedar Meats bosses they say will destroy their neighbourhood’s character.
Eaglemont residents fear plans to build four houses on a single plot of land owned by Nancy Kairouz Mardini will be the “beginning of the end’’ of the desirable suburb’s unique appeal.
It comes as a community fight over another nearby proposed development which attracted a record 654 objections to Banyule Council will this month be heard in VCAT.
Mrs Kairouz Mardini – the sister of Cedar Meats boss Tony whose business has been linked to at least 111 coronavirus cases – wants to build four town houses, each with their own pool, on a block of land she bought three years ago.
Long-time Eaglemont resident Barbara Dixon said it would set a precedent for developers.
“People are just tired of having to fight developers who are seeing this lovely neighbourhood as wide open to them and they are prepared to fight,’’ she said.
“It’s totally inappropriate for Eaglemont.’’
Ms Dixon said the site was “virtually moonscaped’’ in 2017 with trees including a pre-European settlement river red gum removed and replaced by “a desolate derelict eyesore’’.
“A garden once home to brushtail and ringtail possums, tawny frogmouths, nesting sulphur crested cockatoos and native ducks became the home of weeds and foxes,’’ she said.
Now the owners want to remove more trees for the redevelopment and have flagged four lots of future subdivision.
Mrs Kairouz Mardini declined to comment.
But a planning application lodged on her behalf with Banyule Council said the “immediate area was bereft of architectural character” and the design would “promote a much higher design standard than … presently exhibited in the area”.
Plans for the land – which featured a working scale model steam train line before it was sold for $2.7 million to its current owners – have been estimated at $3 million.
Eaglemont resident Peter Cooper said the suburb’s appeal was big, leafy blocks that had mostly avoided overdevelopment.
“There are not many place like this left in Melbourne to be honest, so if they want to preserve something this would be the place to do it,’’ he said.
VCAT will this month hear a case for the construction of 13 dwellings at a historic home at 33-35 Mount St Eaglemont, with the plan outraging residents.
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