By Tate Papworth
A residents group fighting a proposed Kealba development has described a community meeting to discuss the plans as “often heated and uncomfortable”.
A spokesperson for the Kealba Residents Against Over Development group said a meeting last week of residents, a town planner and representatives of the proposed development on Driscolls Road failed to clear up concerns about the proposal.
The spokesperson said members of the group were able to raise their issues, but the tone of the meeting was often heated and uncomfortable.
“It was made very clear by the developers … they have the ability to develop to the full extent the planning provisions will allow,” the spokesperson said.
“We talked about concerns with the local school and perhaps obscuring windows overlooking the school in a show of good faith.
“We also made it very clear that we’re not opposed to the development at all. We’re not asking for a school, or a park, we’re simply saying that the current plans don’t fit the community.
“They’re tiny blocks. Instead of putting 208 townhouses on the site, we’re hoping for larger blocks at the perimeter and the townhouses in the middle.”
A planning forum was to be held at Brimbank council chambers today, where residents could again air their concerns before the council votes on the proposal next Tuesday.
In the event that the proposal is rejected, the developer can take the matter to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
“The tribunal can only really make a decision based on point of law, so we’re hoping that if this does go to VCAT we can reach an outcome that satisfies everyone,” the group spokesperson said. “We just want a development that better fits in with the community and to be consulted on it.”
