Michaela Meade
Close to 1000 people have signed an online petition calling for Whittlesea council to abandon plans to lease vacant land in Wollert to a community housing organisation.
The council is seeking community feedback on its proposal to lease the land at 1F Ashline Street on a 50-year term for affordable housing.
Council’s chair administrator Lydia Wilson said affordable housing was “urgently needed” in the municipality.
“We know there is a critical shortage of local homes that are affordable for our residents on low incomes,” she said.
“Council is pursuing various options to address the growing need for more affordable housing to be made available locally to support city of Whittlesea residents on low incomes, including opportunities to provide its unused land for this purpose.
“We are confident we can secure a partnership with an experienced community housing organisation to ensure a design that fits in well with the local area.”
The petition calls on the council to consider other avenues for providing affordable housing in the municipality.
“I fear that the amenity of my Wollert neighbourhood will suffer and the value of my property will plummet as a consequence of the proposal coming into effect,” the petition states.
The proposal is open for feedback until Sunday, October 11.
