Sanctuary Lakes residents have reignited a campaign to turn their estate into a suburb.
Residents began circulating a petition last week calling on Wyndham council and the state government to recognise Sanctuary Lakes as a suburb in its own right, rather than being an estate within Point Cook.
The council knocked back a similar request last October after Sanctuary Lakes residents asked it to write to the Office of Geographic Names (OGN) to recommend Sanctuary Lakes be granted suburb status.
The council said it believed recognising Sanctuary Lakes as a suburb would impact on the Point Cook community and set a precedent for other estates and subdivisions.
But Sanctuary Lakes Resort Services chairman John Anderson said he was confident the bid would be successful this time after Manor Lakes residents won their own long-standing battle to become a suburb earlier this year.
“We believe the Minister for Planning has recognised an increasing requirement for established localities such as Sanctuary Lakes to be identified, to develop and preserve their community identity rather than be merged as part of mega suburbs,” he said.
“It has all the components of a suburb [and] you can have your mail addressed to Sanctuary Lakes. Government departments like VicRoads are quite happy to accept Sanctuary Lakes as an address, and other government departments and the bank insist you use Point Cook.
“The shopping centre and hotel all use the Sanctuary Lakes name.”
Commercial entity
Wyndham council chief executive Kelly Grigsby said Sanctuary Lakes did not meet OGN guidelines for a suburb and would need ministerial approval to become one.
State guidelines prevent suburbs from being named after businesses or commercial entities.
A precedent was set for Manor Lakes – a registered trademark of the Dennis Family Corporation – when former planning minister Matthew Guy requested a review of the OGN’s decision and later approved the name change.
“Wyndham City will conduct a review mid-next year of new suburbs in Wyndham and consider the merits of Sanctuary Lakes becoming a suburb,” Ms Grigsby said.
A government spokesman said Planning Minister Richard Wynne would be happy to consider the application.
