By Laura Michell
Hume council has been asked to cover the cost of creating a 7500-square-metre park on the former Broadmeadows Primary School site as part of a state government plan to use the Nicholas Street land for housing.
Planning Minister Richard Wynne has rezoned the land at 2-16 Nicholas Street as residential, paving the way for the site 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.
It is not yet known how many private and social housing properties will be built on the site.
In an effort to address community concerns about lack of open spaces in Broadmeadows, Mr Wynne has agreed to allow a 7500 square-metre-park to be built on the 2.16-hectare site – but he is asking the council to buy the land and pay for the park.
The government initially proposed the building of a 1000-square-metre park on the site.
Hume mayor Geoff Porter said the inclusion of the larger park was a “suitable outcome” for current and future residents, but the council was not prepared to pay for it.
“I will be writing to the Minister for Planning on behalf of council to clarify the next steps as council does not believe it should pay for the land, given council will improve the open space,” he said.
“This includes the delivery of much-needed amenities on the site, including playgrounds, seating, tree planting and pathways.”
The council has declined to reveal how much they are being asked to pay for the park.
Broadmeadows Progress Association secretary Sonja Rutherford said it was wrong of Mr Wynne to expect the council to buy the land when it was the government pushing for the site to be used for housing.
“We are calling for a stay on the sale and the review of the rezoning.
“This is a completely unjust situation,” she said.
