By BRIDGET COOK
THE three-year saga of changing a suburb boundary and renaming Cranbourne East and Clyde North as Casey Fields came to end this week, with the council dropping all possible changes.
After stern opposition from the community, the council resolved at its meeting on Tuesday night that the suburb names and boundaries of Cranbourne East, Clyde and Clyde North should remain unchanged.
The decision comes after more than three years of consultation between the council and affected landowners, including two surveys being sent out to poll residents on their preferred new suburb name.
The saga started in 2010 after a request from some community members to relocate the existing boundary between Cranbourne East and Clyde North and the council also looked into the possibility of renaming the new area.
Surveys in 2011 and 2013 asked residents what their preferred suburb name was and Casey Fields came out on top both times.
In November the council issued a public notice informing residents of its intention to rename the new suburb as Casey Fields.
The council received 50 submissions opposing the proposal, a petition with 108 signatures against the change and just one submission for it.
City of Casey mayor Geoff Ablett said the decision to leave everything unchanged came after strong opposition from the community.
“People love Cranbourne East and Clyde North and are proud of the suburbs they live in,” he said.
“No one I spoke to said ’gee, I think Casey Fields is a great name’.
“This would have been OK if we were starting up a new suburb, but it did not go down well in an area that been established for 100 years.
“People are used to their neighbourhood and have taken ownership of it and were resentful that we were thrusting change upon then.
“So we have listened to the people.”
City of Casey manager property, rates and valuations Peter Gillieron could not give an estimation of the time and money spend throughout the process.
“Council did not keep a record of the time spent on the suburb name change proposal,” he said.
“When reviewing suburb names or boundaries it is imperative that all affected residents are provided the opportunity to have their say.
“Council made its decision to retain the current suburb names in response to community feedback.”
Selandra Rise property owner Nathan, who led a petition against the change, welcomed the news.
“I have been in touch with a number of people and the vast majority are thrilled with this outcome,” he said.
“The general consensus is that this is the common sense approach and the right decision has now been made.”
Nathan said while residents were happy with the end result, the long process was a waste.
“It’s certainly a costly exercise to basically come up with the same result as they started with,” he said.
“It’s a bit of a joke, to be honest, but we welcome the result.”
Cranbourne East resident Jean Perry said she was thrilled to hear the news.
“I have let some of our friends know today who jumped with joy at the news,” she said.
“Myself, am so grateful to all who helped sign my petition, for that I thank you, and it just goes to show you, if one feels strongly enough about anything, to make a stand.
“After all, we live in a democratic society.”
