Ridden out of town

By Bridget Brady
VICTORIA’S only not-for-profit riding school faces an uncertain future after being dealt a land rezoning blow all over again.
Members of the Oakwood Riding School in Clyde North were last week shattered to discover they had been reintroduced into the investigation area of the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) after amendments were made to the boundary.
The UGB is being extended to accommodate Melbourne’s growing population.
Treasurer of the riding school Michael Hocking said it was a frustrating time for the school, which has now been included, taken out, and put back in the boundary in the space of 11 months.
Committee president Leanna Bray said she was very upset when she heard news of the proposed boundary realignment.
“I was just in shock when I heard. It’s really, really, disappointing. To the point of tears,” Ms Bray said.
“We’re very passionate about all of this and it’s very upsetting not to know where we are heading.”
Mr Hocking said the Growth Areas Infrastructure Charge (GAIC) meant the purchaser of Oakwood Riding School would inherit a tax of $3.8 million if the 100-acre property was sold due to urban growth.
The GAIC is planned to be introduced to pay for infrastructure for the new communities and is levied at $95,000 per hectare for land brought inside the UGB in or after 2009.
With the amount the committee had spent on the land, facilities and the tax that could be taken off the sale price of the property, Mr Hocking said the committee needed to get about $8 million just to break even if the property was eventually sold to developers.
“We’ve poured everything we’ve got into this,” he said.
To add more uncertainty to the school’s future, word of the extension of Thompsons Road straight through the riding school would mark the end to the school at that site, Mr Hocking said.
“We won’t have any funds to reinvent ourselves and continue on the legacy.”
VicRoads said there were plans to extend the road through Clyde North, and the alignment was subject to the resolution of planning by several parties.
Committee vice-president Helen Hart said the school could not afford legal advice because it was not-for-profit.
“You feel so helpless,” she said.
Ms Bray said the threat of a road straight through the property “makes me feel ill”.
She said it was upsetting to think fertile land could be lost to urban development.
“This is really rich country out here.”
Mr Hocking said the UGB process was frustrating because they were not involved in the consultation process, as last they heard they were excluded from the boundary.
Planning Minister Justin Madden has said the UGB would not be extended unless the GAIC legislation was passed by parliament.
“Our government is not prepared to alter the UGB without implementing GAIC – to do so would leave growing communities without infrastructure and only increase profits for developers,” Mr Madden said.
The riding school will organise a bus to travel to a rally in Spring Street on 24 November when the issue is due to be discussed in parliament.