Battle over units set to rage again

By Jim Mynard
INGLIS Road residents have moved on to a war footing over continued efforts to have a 50unit development built in their locality.
Much of the opposition is against the enclavetype proposal that will cut treasured walking tracks in the area.
The former City of Berwick earmarked the pathways, but the plan was never sealed and the tracks remained on private property.
Resident Mario Nicotera said on Monday the fight against the development had just begun in earnest.
Mr Nicotera said the proposal provided an excellent opportunity for council to demonstrate it was acting on behalf of residents.
He said councillors were elected to act for residents.
Mr Nicotera said a petition calling for a halt to the proposal was signed by 230 people.
“If we had more time we would get hundreds more,” he said.
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) refused the proposal and the Supreme Court upheld its decision.
However, developer Andrew Harman last week said he would represent the application to the council with changes to accommodate the VCAT ruling.
The application is listed for the Tuesday 13 September planning committee meeting with an officer recommendation for approval.
Resident Eileen Kershaw said the changes were minimal and meant nothing.
Mr Nicotera said residents had a responsibility to their children and generations to come to leave physical infrastructures that were appropriate, aesthetically pleasing and beneficial for a sustained quality lifestyle.
“The Inglis Road action group is very concerned with the application before the council,” he said.
Mr Nicotera said the key was that VCAT and the Supreme Court had already rejected this proposal.
He also claimed the new proposal was basically the same as the previous one with none of VCAT’s points being addressed.
“Some residents have spent thousands of dollars fighting the previous proposal through to the Supreme Court,” Mr Nicotera said.
“The fact that the same mirrored proposal has been lodged should be illegal.
“Proposals rejected by VCAT and the Supreme Court should not be allowed to be resubmitted.
“We feel that we are being bullied by a developer who will not even sit with the residents.
“We have tried to arrange a meeting to negotiate an amicable solution to this mess through Casey mayor Neil Lucas, but with no success.
“The council can still approve this proposal.
“The action group has more than 200 signatures on a petition and the number of local residents against this proposal is growing day by day.
“Some residents have said that they will chain themselves to the beautiful trees and form human chains to prevent the bulldozers destroying the character of this neighborhood.”