Housing site flood danger

By Melissa Grant
HOUSING Minister Richard Wynne has rejected calls from Bass MP Ken Smith to build public housing at Icke Road, Kooweerup.
Mr Smith recently said that Mr Wynne was ignoring an ideal opportunity as the property, owned by the Office of Housing, had lain vacant for many years despite a chronic shortage of public housing in the electorate.
However, Mr Wynne said the land identified by Mr Smith was at risk of flooding. “The Member for Bass wants me to build public housing on a site which is subject to flood inundation. No, we will not,” he said.
The land is about 2200 square metres and is part of a larger property owned by the department which has 29 units on site.
“Not only is the vacant portion of land undeveloped, but it is not currently accessible by road and has no current connections,” Mr Wynne said. “Moreover – and this is the key point – the site is subject to a planning overlay that deems the land to be subject to flood inundation.”
But Mr Smith said Mr Wynne’s reasons didn’t stack up.
“None of these arguments carry much weight when you consider that land has been developed on either side of this block for some years,” he said. “Services are literally on the other side of the fence, road paving needs to be extended only a small way and any flooding would also affect existing properties, so it cannot be a major issue.”
Mr Smith said while he agreed that demand for public housing was strongest in the Cranbourne and Pakenham areas, affordable housing in small townships like Kooweerup would appeal to many on the waiting list.
But Mr Wynne said developing the Icke Road site would be highly irresponsible,
“The director of housing is responsible for these developments, and he will not build on sites that are subject to flooding,” he said.