Macedon Ranges council has voted to proceed with the sale of Hanging Rock’s east paddock to the state government, despite internal opposition.
At a meeting on Wednesday, May 25, council passed a motion to negotiate a sale with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), but on its own terms.
Some of those terms include that the sale is equal to or within 10 per cent of council’s current unreleased valuation, retention of the land as public open space maintaining natural and cultural values and for council to remain as part of the committee of management going into the future.
Council also decided to write to the Energy, Environment and Climate Change Minister Lily D’Ambrosio to highlight the “importance of alternative facilities for existing Hanging Rock sporting groups being identified, planned, funded and delivered”.
Concern within the chamber was raised early, with councillor Geoff Neil proposing an amended motion for council not to proceed with the sale unless the government provided a suitable alternative site for sporting groups to relocate to.
Crs Anne Moore and Rob Guthrie did not support the sale of the paddock before the finalisation and endorsement of DELWP’s draft Hanging Rock Master Plan.
While they sympathised with concern for sporting clubs, other councillors said the sale of the land would not impact whether or not the master plan was endorsed.
Cr Janet Pearce introduced an amended motion to make sure council would be a permanent member of future governance and management arrangements of the Hanging Rock precinct, which was passed.
“I want to assure the community that the funds [from the sale] will be set in a separate reserve, there’ll be transparency around that,” Cr Pearce said.
Cr Annette Death said the decision was “really hard”, but council was in the best position to negotiate a balanced outcome for the community, council and government, as the sale process could include conditions to tackle key concerns.
“A risk to council is that [if] we delay or defer, the state government can undertake compulsory acquisition. The officer’s report notes this can occur without council consent on the agreement of the sale price,” Cr Death said.
“But it actually goes further than that, because council could lose the option to have any conditions as outlined in this recommendation.”
Community feedback to DELWP’s draft master plan is currently being considered for the final master plan to be submitted for approval in June.
