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PLANNING Minister Matthew Guy is refusing to be drawn on his intentions for the future of two key open spaces in Sunshine.
The minister told the Weekly he had no intention of stepping into discussions about the future of the former Sunvale school site until the Education Department had completed its valuation.
He will also wait until Brimbank Council assesses Melbourne Water’s application for residential rezoning of land alongside Kororoit Creek on Fraser Street before declaring his view.
In Sunshine last Tuesday to officially launch the Hampshire Square development, Mr Guy said he would wait until he had received official notice from the Education Department about its intentions for the Sunvale site, vacant since September 2009.
“It hasn’t come to my desk yet, officially. When it does I can do something, but at this point in time it’s not with me,” he said.
Residents want the site converted to public parkland, while the council would like to incorporate affordable housing into part of the site.
Save Sunvale member John Hedditch said residents wanted to see progress in the next 12 months.
“It’s unlikely the council could afford to buy it at residential value when it’s not planning to use it for residential purposes, so the ball seems to be in the Education Department’s court around the valuation,” he said.
Western Metropolitan Liberal MP Bernie Finn said he wanted to see the site made available to the council for as little cost as possible.
“To expect the council to pay market rate for what is likely to be an extremely valuable piece of land is a bit much, given the benefits it would bring the community.”
Mr Finn was unable to provide any examples of the Education Department agreeing to sell land to local councils below the market rate.
Mr Guy recently met with residents to discuss the Fraser Street proposal but wouldn’t say if he supported the land remaining public and ruled out speaking with Melbourne Water.
“I will just wait to hear from the council as to how they want to manage it,” he said.
