Minister looks at site

By Melissa Meehan
LAND previously considered unsuitable for development could become a viable site for 25 new public housing units in Kooweerup.
Housing Minister Richard Wynne met with Bass MP Ken Smith last week to see the land, adjacent to the hospital, for himself.
Mr Wynne also met with well-known resident Jack Nunn who has been campaigning for the block, in Icke Road, to be used for additional public housing for some time.
Reports to the minister stated that building on the land, which is considered to be a flood-prone area, would be an expensive task as the floor level of units would have to be almost a metre off the ground and entry ramps would need more space.
Joined by Kooweerup Township Committee president Ray Brown, CEO of Kooweerup Regional Health Service Terrona Ramsay and Cardinia councillor Stuart Halligan, Mr Wynne saw the site for himself.
While he agreed that building on the site was not impossible, he said the cost to do so was a major consideration, as was the perceived lack of demand for public housing in the area.
“While building more units on the Icke Road site may have its challenges, they would certainly not be unsurmountable,” Mr Smith said.
“And the fact that the Office of Housing already owns the land has to be a major plus.”
Geoff Stokes from the Kooweerup Township Committee said information given to the minister about possible flooding of the site ignored the latest hydraulic engineering facts.
“All of Kooweerup and surrounding districts is possibly subject to a planning overlay that deems the land to be subject to flood inundation,” Mr Stokes said.
“Over many years, the natural tendency of the area to flood has been corralled by extensive hydraulic engineering works.
“These weird, water retardation basins and drainage canals, built to drain the natural swamp ensure that even a ‘100 year flood’ is unlikely to inundate Kooweerup.”
He said along the Icke Road site there were new housing estates, existing churches, schools and industrial zones.
Mr Wynne said he was very interested in finding out more about the possibility of developing the site and Mr Smith thanked him for coming out to see it for himself.
“He now has a clearer picture of what is available in the region,” Mr Smith said.
“That being said, I give him fair warning that I do not intend to let up on the issue.”