Calls for rec rezone halt

RESIDENTS advocating against Golden Plains Shire’s push to rezone part of the Bannockburn Recreation Reserve are looking to bring their complaints to council during their upcoming meeting later this month.

With 3.5 hectares of the land deemed surplus in March 2021, the group will present their issues to councillors as well as a petition bearing about 150 signatures.

Josh Trowell is one of more than 100 people advocating against the rezoning, and said he hopes bringing the issue to council directly will make their cause heard.

“Our concerns continue to be ignored by council and the State Government,” he said. “We plan to present our petition on February 27.

“The petition’s pretty simple and reasonable. It’s asking council to put the brakes on the project, and start with what they should’ve done which is to consult with the community and ask what they think.”

The advocacy group previously brought a petition with more than 1000 signatures to council late last year, which Mr Trowell said was dismissed due to a lack of clarity around whether signatories were local.

The municipality’s proposal for rezoning was brought to the Minister for Planning with community consultation taking the form of Planning Panels Victoria hearings held last year.

Mr Trowell said he wasn’t pleased with the outcome.

“I attended and it was an interesting series of events,” he said. “The panel basically agreed with residents and directed the rezoning should be abandoned but the minister overturned it.”

Mayor Cr Brett Cunningham, who opposed the original move to rezone, declared a conflict of interest during the item’s revisitation in February last year.

The motion was passed with Crs Rowe and Ian Getsom voting against the decision to rezone.

With the aim to rezone for residential use, a Golden Plains Shire spokesperson said the eventual sale of the lots will benefit the town’s recreational future.

“Council is mindful that the eventual sale of the public open space should benefit recreational purposes,” the spokesperson said.

“To ensure community gains, a dedicated trust fund has been established, directing all profits from the sale of this land goes back into community infrastructure, alleviating the burden on the rest of the Shire to contribute to these facilities.

“As Bannockburn South undergoes precinct structure planning, it will cater for future recreational needs of the community and the location of any facilities are being factored into all growth planning processes.

“The aim [in 2021] was to create a 50-lot residential subdivision, while retaining space for future recreational needs of Bannockburn. These projects are estimated to cost over $40 million.”

A municipality representative previously said the organisation will carry out community consultation once council moves to sell the land.