Council votes to keep land

By Paul Dunlop
PAKENHAM pensioner Joyce Parker has won a bid to keep a thin strip of green near her home in community hands.
Mrs Parker, her dog Rex and other residents can continue to use the narrow laneway connecting Maria Crescent to nearby parkland after Cardinia Shire Council agreed last week not to sell it.
The land had been considered surplus to the council’s needs and was earmarked to be sold.
But Mrs Parker objected to the plan and councillors at their meeting last Monday upheld her concerns.
A longtime resident, Mrs Parker welcomed the decision.
“I walk through this lane with my dog twice a day,” Mrs Parker said.
“Many residents in the area use the lane to go to the train station or shopping.
“Some of us are elderly and to ask us to go around further is out of the question.”
The councillors’ decision went against council officers’ recommendation.
Town planners had told the council’s 20 March meeting that the strip of land could attract unlawful activity.
Fences of adjoining property owners had been sprayed with graffiti, councillors were told.
The report said there was already access to the parkland from nearby Simon Drive.
Councillors were told park benches could be placed in the reserve to allow elderly residents to rest during their walks.
But Central Ward councillor Brett Owen said he did not think one entry point was enough.
“We need to keep this open,” he said.
Cr Owen led the move to cast aside plans for the land’s disposal saying he was definitely against a sale.
Cr Owen said selling the land to reduce graffiti or other problems was just a quick fix that would not address the wider problem.
Mayor Bill Ronald also spoke in favour of keeping the land. Cr Ronald said a number of similar size blocks had been sold off in recent times, a move he believed was a ‘great mistake’.
“They may not be valuable today but it keeps them in public ownership, in the community,” Cr Ronald said.
Another Pakenham resident, David Drinkwater, objected to the proposal.
Mr Drinkwater said he wanted to ensure Pakenham remained a pleasant place to live in.