By Laura Michell
Hume council hopes the state government will appoint it as a committee of management for part of the former Broadmeadows Primary School site in a bid to avoid buying the land.
As reported by Star Weekly, Planning Minister Richard Wynne asked the council in July to buy 7500-square-metres of land on the Nicholas Street site, which will be turned into a park.
It is not known how much the council was asked to pay for the land, but mayor Geoff Porter said at the time that the council was opposed to the idea.
The Nicholas Street site was rezoned as residential last month, paving the way for the land to be included in the government’s inclusionary housing pilot, which is aimed at boosting Victoria’s social housing stocks by building up to 100 properties across four sites.
Private and social housing will be built on the land, which will be developed by a private builder in conjunction with community housing providers. The 2.16 hectare site will also include 7500-square-metres of open space.
The government initially planned to build a 1000-square-metre park on the site, but increased its size following public backlash.
Councillors voted at their August 13 meeting to write to Mr Wynne and ask for the council to be appointed as a committee of management for the park. Cr Porter said the decision followed talks with Mr Wynne and Broadmeadows MP Frank McGuire earlier this month.
“This outcome would benefit both levels of government and the community, as it means the state government would retain ownership of the site and council funds that may have gone towards purchasing the land would contribute to the best open space amenities for our residents,” he said.
Cr Porter said the council would invest up to $1 million to develop the site.
