By Kyra Gillespie
Independent panellists have finalised their verdict on the future of a vast residential estate on Pakenham’s eastern fringe – and traffic congestion continues to be a major concern.
Pakenham East, soon to be touted Ridgelea Estate by developer Parklea, will surpass Warragul in size and be home to up to 22,000 people if it gets the tick of approval from Planning Minister Richard Wynne.
Since April this year an independent panel representing Mr Wynne have heard submissions from residents, community groups, developers, stakeholders and council on the future of the 630 hectares of farmland in Pakenham.
A finalised report, submitted on 10 September, recommends a number of changes, including transforming the land to from undevelopable farming zone to urban growth zone.
It also reveals that only 19 of the 75 submissions have been resolved.
Many of the issues of fierce contention during the submission period remain unresolved, including the impact of traffic on Pakenham, its effect on native flora and fauna, and the squeezey lot sizes.
Cardinia mayor Collin Ross admitted there were aspects of the Precinct Structure Plan that council objected to.
“There were aspects of this plan that we were not happy with,” Cr Ross said.
“Traffic is a major concern; there will be 22,000 people moving into the area and effectively our roads aren’t getting any bigger, especially down Racecourse Road and Nar Nar Goon.
“Unfortunately we don’t control the hand of the people who make those decisions; it’s all in the hands of the Planning Minister now.
“We would get a better result if we had the power to be involved more.”
The mayor also said the upcoming election could further affect the plans.
“Sometimes they delay the decision when there’s an election because if the opposition become Government they might have a different take on it,” he said.
“I think the decision will be made after the election, they tend to keep the cards close to their chest.
“But 90 per cent of the time the Minister always abides by the independent panel’s recommendations.”
Most controversial has been whether a new interchange to provide direct access to the Princes Freeway for the 22,000 people who will be living in the new development is justifiable.
Submitters expressed concern over congestion at Healesville-Kooweerup, Racecourse, McGregor and Ryan roads, which they argued would worsen with the population growth in the area.
The panel concluded that the connector “would have a relatively minor impact on the arterial road network in the Pakenham area … (and) that the cost of the proposed interchange outweighed the benefits relative to other priorities.”
However the experts were unable to reach consensus when it came to the impact of traffic on the rest of Pakenham.
“The panel acknowledges that the development of the Pakenham East will substantially increase traffic volumes on existing roads,” the report reads.
“While the experts failed to agree on the appropriate design of the intersections with the Princes Highway, the panel considers that this is a matter of detail that will ultimately be determined by VicRoads.”
Despite a number of submissions calling for minimum lot sizes to be established, the panel deemed that a ‘flexible’ approach be adopted, rather than “stipulating minimum lot sizes”.
It moves to include the Small Lot Housing Code which, if adopted, eliminates the need for a planning permit on lots less than 300 square metres.
Ryan Road resident and submitter Jason Sartori described the submission process as nothing but a “mockery”.
“We went through the whole objection process, and for what?” he said.
“In the end the government just does what the government wants to do. The whole thing about giving residents the opportunity to be heard is nothing more than a token gesture.
“The whole thing is a mockery.”
The disillusioned resident said the panel missed the opportunity to create a sound design.
“At the end of the day we residents are not opposed to the development, but we want them to design it well.
“All we were asking for was to see some common sense prevail, and we believe there’s been a missed opportunity here.“
