Golf decision ‘up to Hulls’

By Paul Dunlop
PLANNING Minister Rob Hulls has been told to press ahead with a decision on the future of Pakenham Golf Course.
Cardinia Shire Council has advised the minister its position will not be changed.
Councillors had voted late last year to ask the minister to delay his judgment of plans to rezone the golf course so they could revisit the proposal.
The move prompted speculation that newlyelected councillors might cast aside their predecessors’ support for the controversial plan to relocate the golf course and build a major housing and parkland development in its place.
Residents living in the area have strongly opposed the plans and were angered by the previous council’s stance.
But mayor Bill Ronald said this week that the new council had now been fully briefed and was happy for the minister to continue with his deliberations on the rezoning application.
Cr Ronald said councillors would not alter the previous council’s position but would instead wait for the Minister’s decision.
“The new council came in and said we would like to have a discussion on this before the minister makes a decision. We’ve had that discussion and we’re happy for him to go ahead and make a decision,” Cr Ronald said.
“We’ll wait now and see what that decision is before we do anything else.”
It remains to be seen whether Mr Hulls will uphold the findings of an independent planning panel which recommended Amendment C66 to the council’s planning scheme or whether he will decide, like the previous council, that those findings were flawed.
At stake are plans for a 600lot housing and parkland development on the 90 hectare site with a multimilliondollar new golf course to be built in McGregor Road.
The previous council controversially pushed ahead with its plan despite residents’ protests and the independent planning panel’s findings.
Council argued that the panel’s decision went against the State Government’s own vision for the area and said its proposal was the product of a request from the golf club.
Golf club members have been said to have voted overwhelmingly in support of the move with the current course said to be plagued by drainage problems and other shortcomings.
Council said the plan would be a winwin for the community, increasing public open space on the township’s eastern fringe and providing Pakenham with a state of the art new golf course.
Residents described it as a betrayal of previous pledges to keep the land as a community asset.
Cr Ronald and the three Cardinia Ratepayers and Residents Associationendorsed councillors had led the push to revisit the issue.
Cr Bill Pearson told the Gazette he was now happy for the Minister to make a decision.
A spokesperson from Mr Hulls’ office said no date had been set for his findings to be handed down.