By Tania Martin
MONBULK residents claim a nursery shed development would be ‘diabolical’ for the town and would turn it into an industrialised city.
They say the proposed shed at 172 Old Emerald Road, Monbulk, would be blight on the landscape of the Dandenongs.
The shed will be eight metres high, 75.5 metres long and 25 metres wide.
But resident John Harrod said it would be built on four metres of fill so it would be even higher than eight metres.
“It will be an eyesore and will ruin this beautiful landscape,” he said.
Robyn Miller said it would be a huge factory style shed in the middle of the Dandenongs.
“You will be able to see if from everywhere,” she said.
Ms Miller said the developer initially didn’t apply for a building permit as they applied to replace a couple of little sheds and an old house that was already there.
But the council stepped in and said a permit was needed because there would be earthworks of more than a metre.
The developer, Koomen’s Flowers, also has a similar sheds at 162 Old Emerald Road and adjacent to the proposed site.
Lisa Harrod believes residents would be sandwiched between these industrial type nursery sheds.
“It’s just not right,” she said.
“It will be the industrialisation of Monbulk.
“It will fit right in down in Bayswater but not here.”
Ms Harrod, a shift worker, fears if the development were approved the noise from the shed would be detrimental to nearby residents.
“I only every get three to four hours’ sleep anyway and I will get even less now with all the noise,” she said.
“We moved here 18 months ago and put every cent we own into this place…we had no idea this was going to happen, it will look like an industrial park.”
Ms Harrod said she was also concerned the developer had called the proposed dwelling a shed.
She said it was much bigger than a shed which was misleading to many residents who initially had no idea of its size. JJ Kennedy said the shed would be comparable in size to the Safeway supermarket in Monbulk.
“It will be a huge monstrosity,” he said.
Residents have also questioned why the shed can’t be moved further along the plot of land.
Koomen’s Flowers Paul Koomen said he would put the shed on the other side of the land if he could.
But he said it had been designed for growing flowers and putting the shed in a different location would reduce the amount of sunlight needed.
Yarra Ranges Lyster Ward councillor Samantha Dunn said there were a lot of community concerns that had been raised over the proposal.
“I just hope the developer is looking at addressing some of these issues,” she said.
But Mr Koomen said he had tried as hard as he could to accommodate people’s concerns. “We are now leaving it in the council’s hands,” he said.
The application is due to go before a council meeting later this month.
