More than 50 Cairnlea residents last night unanimously voted to fight businesses setting up at the proposed Cairnlea Mixed Use Precinct.
The Weekly reported last week the community was celebrating after Places Victoria decided to drop industrial use from its plans for the 38-hectare vacant lot adjacent Cairnlea Drive.
However, almost 60 concerned residents took it a step further, voting to also block commercial zones following a community meeting at Cairnlea Football Club last night.
Robert Mammarella, a staffer with MLC Western Metropolitan Region Khalil Eideh and also a Cairnlea resident of the past 12 years, drew applause from the gallery when he said the community must do all it could to block the plan.
“Our first battle is opposing these commercial zones,” he said. “We should oppose any commercial development otherwise it will become Cairnlea Industrial Estate.
“All we’re going to see is grey walls in our estate.
“This is me speaking without my political hat on, this is me speaking as a resident. It could be a case of shops at the front and factories at the back.
“Property values will go down… we need to ask Places Victoria for their impact studies on traffic, on the local fauna, everything.”
He also said there was confusion about who actually owned the land.
“I’m not sure if it’s owned by the Department of Defence, state government, Brimbank council or maybe it’s already been sold off to a private developer.
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