Glen Ora, the company that owns undeveloped roads in the southern part of the Solomon Heights precinct, has made a proposal to transfer ownership of its roads to Brimbank council.
Glen Ora director Ron Silverstein said he believes the proposal could be one logical way of resolving the development issue in Solomon Heights, which has now remained undeveloped for a century due to several issues – one of which is due to limited road access in the area.
“In terms of what we would be seeking in compensation for the roads, that would become part of the charges that would be levied on the lot owners and [Glen Ora] would be paid over a period of 10 years,” Mr Silverstein said.
“What we’re not prepared to do is just hand the roads over to council and nothing happens.”
Council acts as the responsible authority and planning authority for the subdivision.
The ownership transfer to council is one potential solution to unlocking development of the precinct proposed by Greater Western Water (GWW) to Glen Ora.
It means the precinct would meet requirements outlined in the water supply code and therefore allow GWW to supply roads in the precinct to water connections.
Glen Ora took GWW to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to appeal its decision to refuse to grant water connection permits to the estate earlier this year.
Mr Silverstein and GWW did not wish to comment on the VCAT proceedings as matters are still ongoing.
A Brimbank council spokesperson confirmed council received a proposal about ownership of roads in the Solomon Heights area.
“The proposal falls outside of the typical process for roads to be accepted by council and may be subject to additional processes or considerations in accordance with applicable legislation,” the spokesperson told Star Weekly.
“A question related of this matter was disallowed at the August council meeting in accordance with rule 55.11.9 of council’s governance rules, which states that questions relating to proposed developments may be disallowed. Questions relating to current or potential future developments are disallowed so as not to prejudice any future council decision.”
