Hardware plans knocked

By Rebecca Fraser
THE State Government has hammered plans to build a hardware store in Endeavour Hills.
The Mitre 10 store would have been on vacant land between Heatherton Road and Reema Boulevard.
Last September, Casey Council agreed to prepare a report on the rezoning of the site to make the venture possible.
However, Planning Minister Rob Hulls recently knocked back the proposal to rezone the land, claiming the plans were inconsistent with the State Planning Policy Framework and Melbourne 2030 in that it sought to promote a new activity centre at a scale that was inappropriate for the location.
Mr Hulls also wrote that the proposal raised issues that might negatively impact on the nearby Endeavour Hills Major Activity, encompassing the Endeavour Hills shopping centre, as outlined in Melbourne 2030.
The knockback has disappointed Casey deputy mayor Rob Wilson, who said the hardware store would have been a great coup for the Endeavour Hills area, creating more jobs and boosting local business.
The council’s decision to support the proposal last September was a small step forward for Berwick property developer Sam Mondous, who has owned the parcel of land since 1984.
His plans included a 4500-square metre Mitre 10 store and a shopping village at the western end of the Endeavour Hills site containing 11 shops and a food court with 11 food and drink premises, restaurants and car parks.
Mr Mondous has already developed a service station and convenience store on the site, and Cr Wilson said this was the first time in 20 years he had agreed and supported the developer’s business proposal.
“It was something that was feasible and a good outcome for residents of Endeavour Hills,” Cr Wilson said.
He said the lack of bus services between Narre Warren and Endeavour Hills was also another good reason why the development should have been supported as residents would no longer have to travel far for their hardware needs.
Casey mayor Kevin Bradford said the move was a bad decision on the Planning Minister’s behalf because there was no hardware store of its kind in that area.section of Endeavour Hills.
“I am at a loss as to why the Minister did not approve the application,” he said.
The Planning Minister has indicated he is prepared to consider a revised proposal at the site and said the council should identify other locations where a bulky goods retailer could be located within the Endeavour Hills area.