Cade Lucas
Wyndham council has been accused of holding back development in Tarniet by dragging out approval processes and favouring large developers over smaller ones.
Five property developers with landholdings near the corner of Leakes Road and Derrimut Road in Tarneit, including former Wyndham councillor Intaj Khan, claim continued delays in the implementation of an urban design framework by Wyndham council has left them in limbo.
An urban design framework (UDF) is a planning and design document that sets out the long term vision for a particular property and is required before it can be developed.
Mr Khan said the slow progress of a UDF for he and his neighbouring landholders in Tarneit, stood in stark contrast to the treatment given to larger property developers.
“While large corporations seem to enjoy support from the Wyndham City Council, smaller developers find themselves grappling with the challenges posed by skyrocketing land taxes,” he said.
“This dissonance in support has created an uneven playing field, hindering the prosperity and progress of local businesses and initiatives.”
Wyndham council declined to comment.
Another of the group of disgruntled developers, Gilbert Tang from Dreamland Pty Ltd, said he first submitted a UDF for approval in 2020, but that four years on, it is still yet to be approved or declined.
“I have not received any any good response on my application since then,” said Mr Tang who paid $2.8 million for his property at 615 Derrimut Road, Tarneit in 2014.
He hoped to develop the site into a residential estate similar to those Dreamland has built in Truganina, Point Cook and Deer Park, with 100 homes, 200 apartments, retail and commercial buildings.
But whereas those properties had already been subdivided by another, larger developer when Dreamland bought them, Mr Tang’s Tarneit property was a greenfield site and a decade on, it still is.
“It costs me a lot in holding costs every year. I pay very high land tax,” said Mr Tang of his idle property, which he has engaged commercial realtor, CBRE, to try and sell, with hopes of it fetching as much as $15 million.
But as with any development plans, Mr Tang said the sale is on hold until council provides a final decision on the UDF.
“I cannot move.”
