PS: – CHANNEL TEN NEWS – http://tenplay.com.au/news/melbourne/2015/3/10/bulldozer-battle
PPS: CHANNEL SEVEN NEWS – https://au.news.yahoo.com/vic/video/watch/26586585/pensioner-wins-home-fight/
March 10, 2015
Caulfield Leader
Posted by gleneira under Councillor Performance, GE Open Space, GE Planning, GE Service Performance[10] Comments
Glen Eira Debates 
March 10, 2015 at 10:33 AM
ok come up with an viable alternative naysayers
yes very sad that this guy is being forced out but what is the alternative in this area.
– huge and growing population without any park without crossing a main road.
– I know people are going to talk about past opportunities like scout hall but what is this going to achieve.
Where else in the area is there such an opportunity to put a decent size park next to some existing public land?
Also the majority of people don’t like the council spending money so the alternative is by 4 1 million + houses!. Just pay this guy a fair value.
March 10, 2015 at 2:25 PM
It does matter that they sold the scout hall and now want to buy land next door to it. It matters because it means that plenty of public money has been wasted. If they buy this land they will be paying much more. It matters because it shows up that those running the council have no idea about long term planning and what is needed. There has been a public acquisition overlay put on in Gardenvale. It was then taken off and recently put back on again. Insane management and needless cost to everyone.
March 10, 2015 at 10:39 AM
I wonder what evidence the Leader has that Council “wants to compulsorily acquire his house”. Placing it under a Public Acquisition Overlay isn’t the same as compulsory acquisition, although it is a necessary step. Camberwell Council backed down when it tried to remove an elderly lady from land it wanted for carparking at Camberwell Junction, and eventually waited for the lady to die. There’s also the case of the resident who ended up surrounded by Monash University’s Caulfield Campus. Admittedly their amenity wasn’t respected given what was permitted to be constructed on their north-west boundary, but they were able to remain.
March 10, 2015 at 11:27 AM
The two homes council wants for the new Mile End Road mini park is next door to the the large block that once was the Carnegie scout hall. In a short sighted money hungry asset stripping frenzy council/Newton sold this land. The scout hall block would as large or larger than the two blocks they are trying to buy now. Newton needs to explain this lack of foresight and bad planning.
March 10, 2015 at 11:35 AM
Council’s Media Release on the issue:
http://www.gleneira.vic.gov.au/Council/Media_and_news/News/Overlay_for_a_potential_new_Open_Space_%E2%80%94_Mimosa_and_Mile_End_Roads_Carnegie
March 10, 2015 at 11:46 AM
Damage control going on here. Either way Carnegie folks shouldn’t get too excited. Additional public open space will be years and years away like everything to do with public open space.
March 10, 2015 at 6:15 PM
Seemed like a reasonable explanation from the council. Let’s hope they hastily speak directly to Mr Craig giving him an assurance that any possible acquisition is indeed decades away.
March 10, 2015 at 7:47 PM
Jim Magee has already done it on channel 9 news story tonight. He assured Mr Craig that he can stay there till the end of his life. In reply Mr Craig wished himself to live till 150. I wish him that too.
March 10, 2015 at 7:42 PM
I happened to be be watching the channel 7 news and saw the item on Mr Craig. It may be sheer coincidence as claimed that a multistorey development is about to happen directly opposite Mr Craig’s land, but it surely cannot be coincidence and a surprise, that major redevelopment will be occuring all along Mimosa Road. Council has zoned this Residential Growth Zone. This application is probably the first of many to start in this area. Zoning has contributed to the increased need for open space. Council should have been planning what to do about the lack of open space when it first introduced the concepts of housing diversity and minimal change. Now it is too late.
I’m also bemused by the fact that one side of Mimosa Road can be given the all clear for 4 storey developments and the opposite side of the road can be zoned as residential or minimal change. Four storeys opposite single storey dwellings across possibly 20 metres of road is very contentious I’d argue. Does anyone know the length that a four storey building would cast onto the opposite side of the road?
March 11, 2015 at 11:24 AM
Magee is not right to state that “Mr Craig can stay in his house till the end of his life” It is pure BS statement. The state or local government has every right to purchase any land in the municipality if the need is a must i.e. infrastructure, road, open space etc. Being a residential growth zone no one can refuse new applications which will pop up any time. Magee has done a quick one as one of his publicity stunts. He likes to appear in local papers and television.