Gabriella Vukman
Knox city councillors moved the motion to convert Ferntree Gully’s Norvel Road Quarry into a housing estate, overriding requests for a park and playground in the domain.
At the council meeting on Monday 27 October, the amendment and planning permit application levelled by was given the go ahead.
Seeking to transform the Norvel Road Quarry and Special Use Zone in Ferntree Gully into a residential and public conservation purpose zone, the application also put forward a subdivision of the site into 138 lots and road reserves.
Eight social housing properties along with various public trails through the area were also a part of the proposed package.
Of the 31 submissions received by the council concerning the quarry’s development, six represented general support for the proposal, with the others expressing a mixture of queries, concerns and disapproval for the project.
Requests for a reserve with play equipment to be included in the development and protection of the adjoining bushland reserve and the restriction of public access to it were a prominent feature among the submissions.
Objections to the location of the wetland reserve and proposed residential lots in proximity to bushland vegetation as well as requests for improvements to Norvel Road were also expressed among the submissions.
Submissions supporting the proposal welcomed the development on the basis that it offered economical housing opportunities.
The Council officer’s response to the qualms surrounding a reserve and play equipment surmised that the “Council cannot request additional land for the purpose of public open space. Importantly, it is worth noting that residents would have access to Norvel Road Reserve.”
Seeing as the Knox Planning Scheme only requires subdividers to contribute a percentage of the total land area or a combination of land and funding, the proposal satisfies the minimum land requirement of 8.5 per cent.
Council officers also confirmed that “in addition, residents will have access to a park (of any category) within an approximate 10-minute walk or 500 metres, as sought by Knox’s Play Space Plan 2013-2023.”
In response to concerns about conservation, it was confirmed that “where vegetation removal is necessary, it is limited to the southern edge of the bushland, where fire management measures are required.”
It was also established that one of the lots currently encroaches on tree protection zones.
Actions in response to submissions included new fencing along existing residential lots, amendments to the draft permit conditions for correct landscape plans and the inclusion of native species as well as funding for signage for the bushland reserve among others.
Further it was confirmed in Monday’s meeting minutes that the proposal “is considered to have no direct implications or has no direct impacts upon Council’s Net Zero 2030 target, the Community Net Zero 2040, exposure to climate risks or climate change adaptation.”
Moving forward, officers recommended that submissions be presented before a panel and that various changes be made to the current proposal.
