By Andrew Cantwell
The City of Casey will face off with a developer at a compulsory VCAT meeting this week over opposing plans for land earmarked as public open space in the Tulliallan estate, in Cranbourne North.
The VCAT ordered conference is over the developer’s most recent application to subdivide the land for further housing – with 130-plus lots proposed for the 6.8 hectare site.
Casey Council has opposed the application and wants the land used for its original planned purpose – as advertised on the glossy estate promotional leaflets – of sporting fields and recreational space.
Waiting in the wings for an outcome in Casey Council’s favour are the local residents, and the Tulliallan Primary School community.
The subject land is central to the new estate and just over the fence from the school, which has mushroomed from 300 enrolments in 2017 to an expected intake next year of 1100.
The school community had hoped by now to have use of the developed sporting fields for school sports and other activities.
In a statement to Star News, Tulliallan School Council president Tara Hall indicated the issue was critical for the land-locked and rapidly growing school.
“The development of the land adjacent to our school into 140-plus more homes would severely negatively impact the school,” Ms Hall said.
“It would place enormous pressure on our already overcrowded enrolment numbers, not to mention the adverse effect on student health and wellbeing, as well as compounding the parking issues around the school that are already a problem and safety issue.
“The local area really is lacking green space and sporting facilities, and the whole community has been eagerly awaiting the development of the land for the purpose that we were promised by the developers in the Precinct Structure Plan.”
Tulliallan estate residents also want action to secure the site for sporting grounds, submitting a petition with 1200 signatures to Casey Council’s April meeting.
The council has received the petition, and was awaiting the VCAT hearing.
The issue of the subject land’s future all stems from a failure to secure the site by binding agreement at the time the subdivision was approved in 2014.
The council was apparently advised by planning authorities the lack of agreement was no good reason to hold up the entire subdivision. That advice has turned into a costly headache for the council and the community.
Protracted negotiations over some years have broken down over an agreeable price for the land.
The council was prepared to pay around $15 million based on an established convention with other developers to pay the DCP or ‘development contributions’ value of the land. The developer wants what is now the full market value – roughly twice what the council is prepared to pay.
Not getting that price, and not bound by any agreement, the developer now wants to realise the value of the land through its proposed subdivision, and has taken the council to VCAT.
If VCAT can’t broker a resolution this week, the state planning umpire may be forced to decide the matter at a hearing scheduled for September.
For Casey Council, the pursuit of the land has been complex and frustrating.
In a statement to Star News, the council indicated the process has taken quite some time, with no clear resolution of the matter in sight.
“Council has tried over a number of years to secure land at 195S Alisma Boulevard, within the Tulliallan Estate in Cranbourne North, for future sports facilities.
“Unfortunately, the negotiations with the developer (Konann Pty Ltd) broke down as the asking price for the land was significantly higher than the estimated value of the land, as contained in the development contributions plan (DCP).
“Negotiations between the parties have not been able to bridge the gap to an acceptable level.
“At its meeting on 22 January 2019, Council deferred consideration of a report regarding the land to allow for further negotiations with the landowner to occur. These negotiations were not successful.
“A purchase price at a value significantly higher than the market valuation outlined in the DCP is not viable as it would mean that another community or sporting project to be funded by the DCP would be unable to be delivered.
“The developer has been trying to obtain a planning permit to allow them to develop the land or part of the land for housing. The most recent permit application is scheduled for a compulsory conference at VCAT in late May, with a hearing scheduled for September.”
