MAY 16, 2018 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + THE WEST’S BEST PROPERTY GUIDE
Anger rises over units By Charlene Macaulay Tarneit residents fighting a proposal for 13 double-storey units in their estate have been shocked to discover plans for 26 more units on a neighbouring block. More than 110 objections have been lodged with Wyndham council over a developer’s plans to build 13, double-storey units on a vacant block at 1 Onyx Way in Tarneit’s Ridge estate. Objectors voiced their concerns at a recent town planning meeting, with the matter to be decided at an upcoming council meeting. Now residents have a new battle on their hands, with a planning application for 26 units proposed for 3 Onyx Way.
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All smiles for Ruby’s 100th
Our little community … is going to be ruined
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The new application had received 17 objections at the time Star Weekly went to print, meaning it will now be taken before a town planning meeting and the matter eventually decided at a council meeting. Resident Melanie said that if both planning applications were approved, Ridge estate residents would have to live in close proximity to 39 units. “Thirty-nine units in a confined space without provision for adequate parking is going to be the downfall of the surrounding estates,” she said. “There simply isn’t enough room in the surrounding streets for residents to park, let alone visitors. “The high concentration of units locally has already had a negative impact on surrounding homes, with traffic, rubbish, cars parked on nature strips, shopping trolleys dumped. “Our little community, where there is an abundance of vacant land just beyond Tarneit, is going to be ruined and we are deeply concerned about this potentially going ahead.” Melanie said she also had concerns that approval of these two developments would set a precedent for other units to be built in the estate. Another resident, Kylie, told Star Weekly earlier this year: “Many of our blocks are 500 square metres-plus and we’ve bought [for] the very reason of having a bit of space around us – not these units/houses built on top of one another when there is plenty of land around to do that elsewhere.”
(Joe Mastroianni)
- Melanie
Meet Werribee’s newest centenarian. Ruby McLachlan, who celebrated her 100th birthday on Monday, still has a twinkle in her eye and a spring in her step. Mrs McLachlan, who lives at Bapcare Wyndham Lodge, was born in Dundee, Scotland, the eldest of six children. As a young girl, she had to step up and play a leading role at home after her mother was widowed twice at a young age. “She was left with six of us, and some of that was left on my shoulders,” Mrs McLachlan said. “I was 11 and a half, and she’d depend on me. “When I think back, it was a big responsibility. I used to always say to my mother, ‘I’m not having six children!’ “Sometimes, when I go to bed at night, I look up and I say, ‘Are you looking after me for what I’d done when I was young?’ ” Mrs McLachlan met her husband, Andrew, through her uncle. She and Andrew would go out dancing together. “He was a very good man,” she said. “He couldn’t dance though!” They moved to Australia in 1960 because of Andrew’s work as an engineer. They were married for 66 years before Andrew passed away, aged 91. Mrs McLachlan has one daughter and two grandchildren. She celebrated her 100th birthday with a party among family and friends. Mrs McLachlan said she was thrilled to have received a birthday card from the Queen congratulating her on the milestone. “What’s the secret [to making it to 100]? I wish I knew myself! It’s up to God, it’s a blessing,” she said. Charlene Macaulay