Fight to keep court quiet

By Rebecca Fraser
NARRE Warren residents believe their quiet court could soon become quite crowded if a contentious building development is approved.
Many Coronata Court residents have objected to plans to build a second dwelling on a block of land in their street, as they believe it would jeopardise the court’s quiet atmosphere.
Brendan Simons has lived in the court since 1987 and said they did not want to end up with a street full of units or high-density housing.
The father of three said many residents had bought homes in Coronata Court due to the quiet and community-orientated atmosphere.
He said 17 residents objected to the proposal and were fearful that their street would become overdeveloped.
In a recent council report, residents’ and objectors’ concerns were listed and these included the lack of parking space for visitors in the court bowl, compromised child safety due to poor visibility when exiting driveways, and an inability to safely turn around at the top of the court bowl.
Mr Simons said the court had a very community-orientated attitude and was very close-knit and neighbourly.
He said he had nothing against rental properties and some of the objectors were currently renting, but he added that they did not want to end up with a street full of rental units and dual dwellings.
“These guys (developers) come in and their sole purpose is to build dual dwellings, sell them, and then investors come in and rent them out.
“We are worried that we are going to lose our quiet court atmosphere and there will be a constant change over of people and there will be no community relations.
“Even though the building may pass standards, rules and regulations it does not suit us as we want to keep the quiet court we bought our houses here for.”
Last night, residents met with ward councillors Michael Farley and Lorraine Wreford and City of Casey town planners to express their concerns.
This was organised after Cr Farley moved at last Tuesday’s planning meeting that a decision on the development be deferred for another two weeks so a community consultation process could occur.
The council report recommends that a permit be granted to develop the second dwelling subject to numerous conditions.
Cr Farley said he was keen to hear residents’ concerns and would be supportive of their wishes.
“I will support the residents and a majority of them don’t want this,” he said.
“They are worried the new dwelling will cause more congestion and compromise the quiet atmosphere in their court and devalue their properties.
“I will listen to their concerns and formulate some plans with them if this goes ahead.”