Knife-edge votes split council on land sales

A DIVIDED City of Greater Geelong voted down the sale of a Belmont block but backed the disposal of sites at Bell Post Hill and Bell Park, after a night of tight divisions and debate about debt, open space and social housing.

On Tuesday, the council met to discuss the future of four Geelong sites, two of which — 5A Dean Street in Belmont and 2-14 Rowlands Road in Bell Post Hill — had previously been earmarked for social housing.

A recommendation to sell the Belmont site, a now-empty block that once housed the local scout hall, was shot down as the council struggled to find a balance between its financial pressures, the growing housing crisis and community feedback.

Charlemont Ward councillor Emma Sinclair put forward an alternate motion, ultimately supported eight votes to three, that will see the site retained for split usage as both social housing and open space.

“We do have financial obligations to meet debt, but as there are many other blocks that the city has identified as potential surplus…I don’t think we need these specific properties,” she said during the debate.

“I think we’ve become very locked on a specific pathway without exploring the best options and what are the best options for the community, and I’m concerned with prioritising the ability to sell quickly over balanced, long-term solutions.”

Despite a similar push to retain the land at Bell Post Hill, councillors voted six to five in favour of selling the site.

Cr Anthony Aitken used the debate to call out ongoing misconceptions about social housing, suggesting the council had failed in the years following the development of its social housing plan to educate the community about both the need and nature of social housing.

“There is so much confusion out there,” he said.

“If you are a low-income earner, if you are someone who is at threat of homelessness, if you are someone suffering from family violence, or if you have special needs based on intellectual or physical disability, you cannot enter the housing market in Australia.

“The only way you can actually get into safe housing or a roof over your head is through social and affordable housing.

“So, because the crisis is actually worse now in 2025, I believe we have a responsibility as councillors to ensure that we look at every single opportunity to build social and affordable housing in Geelong.”

An attempt to reposition 45-48 Barton Street in Bell Park for social housing fell flat shortly after in a narrow defeat that saw the council voting six to five in favour of its sale.

On each occasion, Crs Elise Wilkinson, Melissa Cadwell, Aitken and Sinclair opposed the sales.

The site of a former community hall at 50 Westmoreland Street in Whittington has also been put forward by council officers for a social housing development.

The council was set to discuss the future of the land at Tuesday’s meeting but voted to defer the decision in favour of a review into the expression of interest process already undertaken on the property.