The now abandoned Kingswood golf club on Friday.Credit:Simon Schluter
Hearings begin in earnest next month into the plan,which would see the disused Kingswood golf course turned into 823 homes,adding about 2000 new residents to Dingley Village which has a population of 10,000.
AustralianSuper bought Kingswood in 2014 and has fought ever since to develop it. Its first attempt was stymied in 2018 when Kingston Council abandoned its rezoning after 8000 resident objections.
Now,the state government has taken the decision off the local council and handed it to Planning Minister Richard Wynne,who will decide the land’s fate after hearing from the advisory committee he appointed.
The last round of golf was played on the course in 2018 and the club’s former manager said its proximity to homes had become a key reason for its merger and relocation to the Peninsula golf course in Frankston.
Kevin Poulter,president of the Save Kingswood Group. It is taking on Australia’s biggest super fund,AustralianSuper,over the former Kingswood golf course.Credit:Simon Schluter
Two community groups are fighting hard to convince Mr Wynne and AustralianSuper to radically downsize their plan for the land.
Kevin Poulter,president of the Save Kingswood Group,said AustralianSuper “had no right to purchase a golf course and expect it to be rezoned. That’s not how planning works”.