CHEESE IN DEVELOPER STOUSH
DEVELOPERS are threatening to sue the State Government if a Labor candidate gets his wish to scrap a controversial housing development at Spring Creek.
Last week, Labor’s South Barwon candidate, Darren Cheeseman, broke ranks from his party to call for the shrinking of Torquay’s western town boundary, in a move that would effectively kill off long-held plans to build 2000 homes at Spring Creek.
Despite Mr Cheeseman’s comments, his position is not formal Labor policy, with the party only promising to “review” the town boundary if it wins next month’s state election.
Parklea — one of several developers involved in Spring Creek — told the Geelong Advertiser it would consider legal action if the development was shelved.
Director Don Welsh said the company had an obligation to act in the best interests of its investors, who he said had innocently splashed money on a development that gained State Government approval in 2014.
“If Mr Cheeseman’s objectives are met, my job is to act on behalf of our investors and ensure they’re protected,” Mr Welsh said.
“I don’t know what that entails … (but) if that means legal action, that means legal action.
“If that means negotiation with government, then that means negotiation with government.”
The company has already started advertising a new estate in Spring Creek and is planning to begin construction in mid-2019.
Mr Welsh declined to say more about the possibility of legal action, but South Barwon Liberal MP Andrew Katos said any shrinking of the town boundary could result in compensation claims totalling more than $100 million.
“Has Darren Cheeseman costed or worked out what it would cost to bring back the town boundary?” he said. “The landowners and developers would be circling at the Supreme Court with this.”
Mr Katos also criticised his political opponent for making a stance on the issue without an official party policy.
“First and foremost, what people need to understand is this is Darren Cheeseman’s opinion,” he said.
“This seems like a deliberate attempt to deceive the community that Labor has a position they don’t actually have.”
Mr Cheeseman did not directly comment on the prospect of a lawsuit, but hit back at Mr Katos’ claims, saying he was speaking up for residents who were strongly opposed to developing Spring Creek.
“Once again Andrew Katos and the Liberal Party are advocating on behalf of developers, against the wishes of the Torquay community,” he said.
“I will always stand up and represent the community against out-ofcontrol development and make sure the community is heard loud and clear in our review into town boundaries.”
Despite warning of a potential lawsuit, Mr Welsh said he hoped the next state government would focus on working with developers to help shape the new residential area.
“There has been years of conversation about this and I thought we got to the point where we had found a compromise,” he said. “I don’t want to be in conflict with anyone. I want to work with the State Government and the community on this. I just hope common sense prevails.”
“Has Darren Cheeseman costed or worked out what it would cost to bring back the town boundary? The landowners and developers would be circling at the Supreme Court with this.” SOUTH BARWON MP ANDREW KATOS