Southern Peninsula
Features inside FOOD AND ENTERTAINMENT PAGES 29–33 CLASSIFIEDS PAGES 36–37 SOUTHERN PENINSULA SCOREBOARD PAGES 38–39
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Tuesday 11 March 2014
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Eyes on our skies It was beautiful kite-flying weather on the weekend with residents and visitors from around Melbourne flocking to Rosebud foreshore for the annual kite festival put on by Rosebud Chamber of Commerce. Light winds and clear blue skies greeted this family from Eltham. More Alexandra Dellaportas pictures on Page 33.
Skylift wants shire land By Mike Hast REPLACEMENT of trees and bush cleared for the proposed $14 million Arthurs Seat chairlift gondola could come from three nearby shire reserves, says gondola chairlift spokesman Simon McKeon. Mr McKeon, one of four shareholders of Arthurs Seat Skylift Pty Ltd, revealed the “native vegetation offset” plan at a public meeting last week organised by the Association for Building Community in Dromana. It was the first public meeting since
Mornington Peninsula Shire put Skylift’s plans on display for public comment. Mr McKeon said 55 hectares of “shire-controlled” land had been identified by shire and Parks Victoria officers as a suitable vegetation offset for clearing at the bottom station, the 14-16 metre wide gondola corridor up Arthurs Seat, and the top station with its 100-seat cafe. He said the land would be transferred from shire ownership to Parks Victoria and be included in Arthurs Seat State Park.
Later in the week, the shire’s manager of statutory planning, Angela Hughes, told The News the “potential transfer of shire-controlled land into Arthurs Seat State Park has been raised as one potential option to achieve the native vegetation offset required by this proposed development”. She said this would have the benefit of “keeping the offset in our community and may provide a higher degree of protection for the land”. The 55ha (140 acres) was given to the Shire of Flinders in 1974 when a developer subdivided land west of
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Purves Rd between Seamists Drive and Waterfall Gully Rd. The land is zoned green wedge and would unlikely ever be rezoned for homes but Lot 15 in the subdivision sold for $1 million three years ago. This would make the 55ha worth at least $8.8 million if it ever came on the open market. Asked about its value, Ms Hughes said the council “would have to follow a statutory process to consider the potential ownership of this land, which may include putting a nominal value on [it]”.
At the ABCD meeting, Mr McKeon told more than 130 people the project would revitalise the state park, create an internationally recognised attraction, and boost the peninsula’s economy through tourism and employment. The fully enclosed 40 gondolas carrying up to eight people each would run all year round and could operate at night, he said. Mr McKeon’s presentation covered vegetation removal, bushfire, noise, traffic, visual impact and parking. Continued Page 12
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