Sanctuary Lakes residents have reignited a campaign to turn their estate into a suburb.
Wyndham council will spend the next month gauging community sentiment on the long-running debate following a request from Sanctuary Lakes Resort Services, the owners’ corporation, that the estate become a suburb in its own right.
The council has written to more than 7000 affected Point Cook residents asking them what the boundaries of Sanctuary Lakes should be if it was to be recognised as a stand-alone suburb. The council has also written to a number of Hobsons Bay residents.
The move comes almost four years after Wyndham council knocked back a request by Sanctuary Lakes residents that the council write to the Office of Geographic Names and recommend the estate be granted suburb status.
At the time, 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.
If the latest suburb bid is successful, it would become the second Wyndham estate to become a suburb, following Manor Lakes.
Wyndham mayor Peter Maynard said the consultation was the first step in proclaiming the area a suburb.
“There is a formal process required to determine whether an area should be designated a suburb,” he said.
“Once community feedback is received, a report will be considered by council, which will take into consideration the views of residents and stakeholders as well as other operational factors that could arise.
“If the proposal is supported, the matter will be referred to the state government’s Registrar for Geographic Names, who will make the ultimate decision.”
The consultation period will run from March 14 until April 18. To have your say, go to www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/sanctuarylakesconsultation
