By Sahar Foladi
Residents in the City of Casey are concerned the heritage-listed Captain Doveton house may end up in developer hands.
The property, 24 Doveton Avenue in Eumemmerring, is still up for sale for a maximum $850,000.
The Doveton Eumemmerring Township Association (DETA) chairperson Stefan Koomen said they would keep their advocacy going after City of Casey declined to purchase the house.
“They said they know the house is important and it’s one of only two properties in that whole area that has significance, but it’s not something they’re exploring at this time,” he said.
“They didn’t rule it out completely.”
According to the property agent, Kai Xia, there has been no close offer to satisfy the current owner’s $850,000 mark.
“We’ve been approached by developers interested,” he said.
“It’s really up to the price so it doesn’t matter who the owner sells it to.”
Mr Koomen said that was a concern for the community and had planned a meeting to discuss and make plans on their next course of action as they seek to take it out of private hands.
“Council should find out the value of the property, seek to buy it and rent it out. If a homeowner and investor can buy house and make money out of it, why can’t council do the same?”
Mr Koomen said he wanted to show there were more residents than just himself that were in support of the local council acquiring the property.
“As long as the house is there, we’ll keep pushing council.”
As reported previously on 26 March, City of Casey manager planning and building Tania Asper said: “The property located at 24 Doveton Avenue in Eumemmerring (Doveton Height) is currently protected by a Heritage Overlay in the Casey Planning Scheme. Council has no plan to acquire the property.
“The current Casey Planning Scheme includes Clause 15.03 Heritage, Clause 21.07 Built Environment and Clause 43.01 Heritage Overlay.
“These controls recognise the heritage significance of the property, ensures that the building cannot be demolished without permission and discourages any inappropriate demolition and/or development to occur on the land.”
The group had also approached Bruce MP Julian Hill who said he fully supported their campaign to save the house.
“Captain Doveton’s house is the only remaining Victorian-era property of its time and has a direct link to Doveton’s name and history,” he said.
“A property of such historical significance should not be lost and I urge council to reconsider their position.
“For years, Doveton and the older most established areas of Casey were too often overlooked in favour of shovelling money into Cranbourne and newer areas, especially under the former council…” he said, adding the council was sacked following an anti-corruption probe.
“The Doveton Eumemmering Township Association should be congratulated for their community campaign on this local issue which I fully support.”
The spacious 960m2 vintage Captain Doveton house was named after Captain John and Margaret Doveton who bought the house in 1894 and lived there for almost a decade before the house was sold in August 1903.
Despite their short stay in the town, in 1954 the area was named after Captain John Doveton.
