A few days ago we received the following email from one of our readers. We’ve been asked to maintain anonymity. Accordingly, all names have been removed.
“To whom It May Concern,
I thank you for the opportunity of this email. I have lived in McKinnon for nearly 27 years and I love the area. Issues that I would like to bring up include; the lighting in our streets at night. The lighting is very poor and it is dangerous for anyone to be walking home from the station at night. The night noise in Nicholson street on a Friday or Saturday night, (from) drunken people making a nuisance of themselves. I did call the police on an occasion and they did not follow through.
Yesterday I learnt that the controversial apartments that are to be built on the corner of Lees and Nicholson Street went to VCAT. The majority of residents did not know of this. Also my residence backs onto a laneway….. This laneway access no longer exists as (someone) has bought the lane. When decades ago….(there was the attempt)…to close the laneways the request was refused due to being on an easement. ….Currently (there is a new) two storey home on a previous existing ‘laneway’ and on an easement. I was told that (some people) had applied and bought the lane through adverse possession as there was no yellow board put up for this to occur. My neighbours have been broken into and the offenders are thought to have accessed the property from the laneway. Alcohol and drug affected persons use this laneway; young unattended children run in the laneway; drivers drive quickly through the laneway. The original purpose of the laneways was to access septic tanks (but) as these no longer exist – sell the laneways.
Regards xxxxx
Glen Eira Debates 
May 30, 2011 at 9:38 AM
‘gleneira’, this story is important to be known. But somehow I feel that this blog is not the right Forum to learn from it and achieve some kind of positive outcome for affected residents. Here are some things that residents should have done or should do:
* Clearly, Ward Councillors should be informed about consequences of lane-way selling, so that they could make representations on his/her behalf. Did the reader inform Crs Hyams, Magee, or Lobo about this issue?
* Was the Mayor informed about this issue? If not a letter to the Mayor is in order. I would encourage the reader to do just that even though it went to VCAT;
* If VCAT case is still to happen the complainant/objector can still join the Application to object. If VCAT decision was made it’s too late;
* Take the issue to a residents association like GERA (Glen Eira Residents association Inc);
* Make the issue public through media publicity.
Finally, there is clearly a need for a formal representative body that can take up such issues with the Council on their behalf. Glen Eira Residents Association Inc seems to be the right community organisation for that. It needs to broaden its operations to whole of Glen Eira not just Caulfield.
May 30, 2011 at 11:08 AM
Your suggestions for further action by residents are good. But it’s also true that people need to be made aware of the fact that this is going on and that there may be others in identical situations. It’s here that Glen Eira Debates is doing its job really well by bringing issues out into the open and thus informing people. My guess is that when enough people realise that they’re not alone in fighting city hall that’s when real change can occur. Connecting and informing people is the major benefit of technology and of this blog site.
May 30, 2011 at 12:24 PM
Let’s face it, when it comes to making a buck out of selling land then residents welfare comes a long long second.
May 30, 2011 at 9:43 PM
I would write to the CEO, copying your Ward Councillors. At least that way you will gain the facts.I doubt this person exists.
May 30, 2011 at 10:58 PM
The big town planning applications currently are about the sale of the CROWN triangle for a fraction of it’s value with a token exchange off land which the Victoria Police and Glen Eira Council stated to be a very unsuitable site for a public park. Now residents have been blindly asked to consider another “7 lot subdivision” which includes this subject land and other parcels of land which council saw fit to trade at bargain prices over the years. All these parcels of land now belong to the MRC and are safely secured behind MRC fences and include the southern section of Bond Street from Station Street to the former Glen Eira Road (eastern end) also behind the MRC gates at the GlenEira Road roundabout. An now would you believe our four famous councillors have now approved a subdivision plan of these lots and others thus leaving the public an incredable entrance to the tunnel to their pip in the Racecourse Reserve (only about 15% of the total area)… IT WILL BE NECESSARY TO CROSS OVER THREE LOTS OF THE SUBDIVISION WHICH FOR THE PRESENT TIME IS TO BE GRANTED BY THE GOODNESS OF THE MELBOURNE RACING CLUB
May 30, 2011 at 11:01 PM
Recently many lots and easements have been sold off by council. Residents aren’t always told the price, nor the amount of ratepayers’ money that council has to first spend in order to get the lots up to scratch in order to sell. So I’m just wondering whether the issues that this email writer brings up are even considered by the administration before they declare a site as “unnecessary” and thereby inflict years and years of unsociable behaviour on neigbouring properties. I can’t ever remember reading anything about these issues in any officer’s report and no councillor seems to bother to even ask such basic questions. The constant refrain is that such decisions merely fall into the category of “housekeeping”.