House debates
Monday, 22 August 2011
Statements by Members
Aston Electorate: Building Approvals
1:48 pm
Alan Tudge (Aston, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Last month I sent a brochure and a survey to residents of Boronia in my electorate. I received hundreds of responses to the survey. The biggest local issue that was raised concerned high-rise developments in the area of Boronia. Under the present guidelines, buildings of up to 11 metres could be built in the streets immediately surrounding shopping precincts. I have put to the Knox council that they should revert to the Boronia structure plan which was agreed in 2006. That was agreed after extensive consultation with local residents, and there was broad community support for the Boronia structure plan. The plan allowed for modest developments, not 11-metre-high buildings.
There are already a large number of houses planned for the Knox area: in the Mirvac estate in the area around Knox city, in the new areas of Rowville and in medium-density housing which is underway across Knox. We do not need high-rise developments in the Boronia area, which is almost 30 kilometres from the city centre. I have also suggested that we need to ensure that our infrastructure is in place before we considerably grow our population; otherwise we will end up having a larger economy but potentially a lower quality of life. (Time expired)