Complex plan divides council

By Paul Dunlop
CARDINIA Shire councillors are divided over plans to build a shopping and entertainment complex on the former Consolidated School site in Pakenham.
Their mixed feelings on resulted from a briefing on a prospective development plan.
Mayor Bill Ronald supported the proposal but Central Ward colleague Kate Lempriere remained firmly against it.
Cr Ronald thought it could be just what growing Pakenham needed, while Cr Lempriere feared it would “split the town”.
Council made no decision and will wait to see if developers lodge a formal application.
Peter Gillon, of the Gillon Group, hoped to develop a complex featuring a supermarket, Big W department store, a petrol station, entertainment centre and up to 20 specialty shops on the site in Main Street.
A cinema complex and 1100 car parking spaces would also be key elements of the proposal, which has been a major subject of debate around town since it was first revealed in the Gazette.
Mr Gillon wanted the council to remove planning controls that prohibit the development of the vacant site as a shopping centre. A cinema is allowed under the controls, which were put in place for fear the development would spread Pakenham’s business district too thinly, and fragment the town.
Mr Gillon told the Gazette before the briefing he hoped for a change of mind.
And Cr Ronald believed the Gillon plan had plenty of merit.
“We’ll be discussing it over the next few weeks, and I believe there is some scope to give ground,” he said.
“We’ve got to look well into the future for something like this, and in 20 years time we could very well be saying this was just what the town needed.”
Traders are against the proposal, fearing it could spread the business area too thinly and tempt trade away from existing shops.
Cr Lempriere said many traders were dead against the development and she would argue strongly that it not go ahead.
“I’m not convinced it’s in the best interests of the people. It could change the character of the town. I have had some people tell me it will turn Main Street into a cemetery,” she said.
“All this talk about cinemas gets people excited, but it’s pie in the sky stuff. There are no guarantees.
“Council has been trying for years to get a cinema to Pakenham but has been told it won’t happen until the town gets the numbers to sustain it.”
Cr Ronald did not believe that those concerns carried weight.
“We need to create opportunities that will keep people shopping in Pakenham rather than places like Fountain Gate. The Safeway supermarket was built in a paddock. Look at that area now. It’s part of the main shopping area,” he said.
“In 2021, Pakenham’s population could be around 90,000. I think the town can sustain this.”