By Tanya Faulkner
A secret development comes to light as members of the community rally against the decision.
The state government has approved plans for high density housing at the former Boronia Heights College grounds without any notice to the public of the plan and with the most minimal of consultation with Knox Council, which has left residents in the surrounding area frustrated and angry.
The grounds in the matter are at the foothills of the Dandenong, tucked away off Mount View, Harcourt and Forest roads; a gem of a place that is described as precious and irreplaceable by Boronia locals.
Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny has recently approved plans for the eight-hectare former Boronia Heights school site to be transformed into a residential area with 145 homes.
Community member Roger Davey is one of those concerned about the sites’ potential future, and is banding together with other locals to stand against the decision.
He said the site is a nice piece of greenery amongst the surrounding residential developments, and has provided him and his dog Snowy a great place to go for walks and enjoy the greenery.
“Tearing down the park and building houses on it would mean there is no more ‘green’ in the area. There are kids enjoying the bike tracks they’ve built, and a football field that is needed in the community,” he said.
Mr Davey suggested the government should do similar to its actions in the Western suburbs where they are planting 500,000 trees to contribute to urban cooling.
Council was recently advised that the development plan was approved by a delegate for the Planning Minister on 2 May 2023.
Deputy Mayor Cr Jude Dwight said the plan suggests almost 150 homes to be built on the land, however the Knox Housing Strategy and Foothills policy would support about 25.
It will see about half of these across the old oval area which Council has previously requested be retained due to the increasing pressure on our sport and recreation reserves.
Cr Dwight said the main concerns for residents are not just about the environment and its current potential, but also traffic congestion with an increased population in the area.
“The site will have just one access road through from Harcourt and Mountview Roads, hosting vehicles for 145 new dwellings, and loading up already congested intersections with Albert Ave and Forest Rd,” she said.
The state government’s Plan Melbourne 2050 identifies Boronia’s activity centre as a Major Activity Centre where higher density housing should be supported by Council, as is appropriate to the transport infrastructure and community services available while taking the pressure off the foothills and surrounds.
Knox City Council Housing strategies and policies have been developed with extensive community consultation, however the government is disregarding both its Plan and Council strategies with this development, creating higher density housing in the major activity centre and foothills area.
“The consequences of this kind of approach is the eventual erosion of foothills protections in areas where our drainage, stormwater and road infrastructure and existing vegetation simply cannot support it,” she said.
The state government maintains that affordable housing is the number one driver however there is very little detail about how this will be achieved aside from the “bulk-build” approach.
Ms Dwight said inclusionary housing is a far bigger issue, which solutions require greater consideration than what is evidenced in the development plan and must be negotiated with Council to achieve strong outcomes.
“Council’s open space developer contribution is not being met and there is little protection planned for the sites of biological significance and the fauna they are home to,” she said.
Both Ms Dwight and Knox Mayor Cr Timmers-Leitch have both requested a meeting with Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny, in which Ms Dwight said no response has been received to date.
Cr Timmers-Leitch said in a press release that it was very disappointing that there was no public notice and minimal consultation before approving the plan largely unchanged.
“Council first raised concerns about the proposal in August last year, and requested that the Minister not approve the development plan as proposed,” she said.
There are concerns for the site including the intensity of the development, lack of information about social and affordable housing, the protection of habitat zones and vegetation, bushfire risks and drainage needed to manage stormwater runoff.
“What’s proposed is in stark contrast to the surrounding area, and there is a distinct lack of open space for a development that proposes to house so many people,” said Cr Timmers-Leitch.
These concerns were addressed in an interview between Cr Timmers-Leitch and ABC Radio’s Virginia Trioli earlier this month.
A spokesperson for the Department of Transport and planning said the community had their say on the Boronia Heights School site when the rezoning of land went to public notice in 2017.
Knox Environmental Society (KES) are among several locals with concerns for the environment at the Boronia Heights site.
KES President Richard Faragher said it’s not just the wildlife that will be at risk of these developments, it’s about the important flora and fauna.
“There are other sites where contractors have come through and just taken out the flora and fauna, replanting other species that we have no idea what they are or where they’ve come from, and some species are now dead from that work,” he said.
Mr Faragher said the fact is you can put houses anywhere, you can’t put open space anywhere.
As soon as it’s housing, you’ll have people moving through the bush area making a real mess of them, then you have dogs, kids, people complaining about fires or snakes.
“The thing about these areas is once they’re developed that’s the end of them,” he said.
Overall the consistent issue is the lack of knowledge about the plans for the site amongst community groups, residents and other locals alike from the government.
“No one will talk to us about it, we can’t get anyone to just sit down with us and talk about the importance of linking up the habitats for the ground flora, the trees and wildlife,” said Mr Faragher.
He said KES did the original campaign in 2018 and got 10,000 signatures from just going to local stores and shopping centres around the Knox municipality, which was presented to the government by Heidi Victoria.
KES also presented to the government Land Standing Authority committee in 2018 about the importance of the rare and threatened species in that area, all of which has been ignored with the approval of the development.
According to the Department of Transport and Planning, the land in question was rezoned from Public Use Zone to Neighbourhood Residential zone and introduced a number of overlays including a Development Plan Overlay in August 2018 via an amendment to the Knox planning scheme.
Public notice of the rezoning of the land was undertaken in 2017 and 67 submissions were received and a public hearing was held on 18 April, 2018.
It said the school site is part of the Victorian Government’s Inclusionary Housing Pilot which will create up to 100 new social housing homes in liveable communities across six sites.
“We know how important accessible and affordable housing is and that is why we need to use land we already have while protecting the natural environment and character of local neighbourhoods,” the spokesperson said.
Former MP for Ferntree Gully Nick Wakeling said the Government had no intention of stopping the development or engaging in proper consultation with the public.
“As the land was a former school site, it’s completely government owned, which means they can essentially do whatever they like with the place, and don’t have to go through the same planning approvals like independent contractors do.
“Whatever they build on that site will affect the local community, who haven’t really got any idea on what they’re planning to build,” he said.
Mr Wakeling said this issue is very much in line with that undertaken by the government at “Lake Knox”, having no adequate community consultation before confirming plans to replace the artificial dam at the site, risking the habitat of the vulnerable blue-billed ducks.
Another concerned community member Maurice Perry, who is a member of both Save Lake Knox and Save Boronia Heights Memorial Park groups said the government should consider acquiring land closer to transport and shopping centres for their proposed ‘social housing’.
“Housing is important in our community, however those who are affected by the current housing crisis may not be able to afford the sites there, and the government is only proposing 10 per cent of the development as social housing,” he said.
As it currently stands, the site is home to a football field that was once part of the Boronia Heights Technical College, which Mr Perry said is regularly used by the community for sports and leisure activities, particularly the local kids.
“There’s already a shortage of football fields in Victoria, particularly for juniors and female footy, and this field would be ideal to support that with a bit of extra drainage.
“The space has a lot of potential for barbecues, public toilets and walking paths, and the local kids regularly ride their bikes with it being the only place in the area for them to do so,” he said.
Mr Perry said the Save Boronia Heights Memorial Park group is still trying to stop the Victorian Government housing development on the old school site, and will be holding a public rally outside Woolworths in Boronia on Saturday 8 July at 10am.
“Our plan is to meet out the front of Woolies with infographics and pamphlets for the community, to disseminate information, answer questions, and share some of the alternative uses for the site.”
“We are hoping to have representatives from the Knox City Council on site as well,” he said.
If members of the community have concerns about the plan, they should contact the Minister for Planning as the Responsible Authority.
