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Save Kingswood Golf Course
The Central Park in Dingley Village
Save Kingswood Golf Course from Destruction
Say NO to FLOODING
Say NO to Rezoning,
Say NO to Subdivision,
Say NO to Residential Over-Development
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We still await a decision on Kingswood's future.
⚠️ Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny recently
promised to promote development in established suburbs as a way of preventing urban sprawl into greenfield sites, after acknowledging the government had failed to meet its own target of directing 70 per cent of housing growth to established areas.
Municipal councils fear state government’s moves to grab power over local planning decisions in a bid to provide an extra million homes by 2050 will be disastrous for local amenity.
We met with our State Minister, Meng Heang Tak on May 11th 2023 to discuss Kingswood.
From the Star News, Nov 22nd 2022
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It is insane and undemocratic to have council spend nearly a year intensely examining plans, rejecting them all, then a SINGLE MINISTER overrides Council and 8,000 objections
AustralianSuper had no right to purchase the Golf Course Park without negotiating with council or residents prior, regarding suitable uses.
In fact they frankly admitted they intentionally AVOIDED talking to residents - even though its the most fundamental requirement put forward by the Planning Minister.
AustralianSuper have splurged about one million dollars of member's money on plans, Lawyers, QCs, Spin doctors and Advertising.
Members should tell them to do the right thing!
Ian Silk, CEO at the time of acquiring Kingswood, said to a large gathering of Super companies:
“Superannuation funds failing to consider environmental, social and corporate governance risks when investing their members' retirement savings are in breach of their duties and therefore the law” (The AGE May 8th, 2019)
Rosemary West said:
Kingswood (adjacent to the Green Wedge) is another hot Clarinda electorate issue, with a Golf Course Redevelopment Strategic Advisory Committee report pending since last December’s hearing. The Golf Course Redevelopment SAC was appointed to hear Australian Super’s application for over 800 houses in a three storey development after Council voted to refuse it.
Rosemary West and Kevin Poulter both expect a scaled down development will be approved.
How appalling!
8,000 objections and three plans rejected by Kingston council,
yet the decision will be made by just ONE person!
What happened to consulting residents and democracy ?!!
“In 2018, Planning Minister Richard Wynne issued a statement to A Current Affair which included...
"I always encourage councils to make decisions in line with the expectations of their local communities – planning outcomes are always better when the voice of the community is heard."
If you have an investment in AustralianSuper, we don't recommend you withdraw, as they are so huge, they will not notice.
However we suggest you write to them and ask them to stop destroying the environment and trees on Kingswood and they should remember their ESG claims.
(ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. Investors are increasingly applying these non-financial factors as part of their analysis process to identify material risks and growth opportunities.)
Recent CEO of AustralianSuper, Ian Silk lectured a large group of Superannuation funds, saying:
“Superannuation funds failing to consider environmental, social and corporate governance risks when investing their members' retirement savings are in breach of their duties and therefore the law” (The AGE May 8th, 2019)
AustralianSuper boss Ian Silk said they "will ... vow a greater focus on environmental, social and governance issues"
Other issues for Dingley Village include 200, three storey units planned by Government to be imposed near the shops!
AND VCAT allowed more trees to be cut down!
Kevin Poulter, Save Kingswood Group inc.
April 2022 NEWSLETTER
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Objections include
🔺No Net benefit for Dingley Village
🔺A twenty percent increase in our Village population
🔺Not in Village Character. Dingley Village currently is overwhelmingly one or two storey individual homes, an estimated 80% of large family lots being 550 - 650sq metres. The developer wants 823 lots, with many less than 300 sq metres.
🔺No Community facilities like sporting ovals.
🔺Gross under-provision of parking for residents, coupled with anticipated narrow streets. They have even applied to reduce their parking obligations! So each tiny apartment will have up to four cars in tiny streets and nature-strips. (Parking on Nature strips in Dingley Village is a $120 fine.)
No consideration of Amenity.
🔺The Kingswood Board, nor the developer have ever consulted residents in a manner that resulted in our ideas being properly adopted. Despite Simon Brookhouse - the Chief Executive Officer of Golf Victoria publishing guidelines for Golf Club mergers, stating that clubs should engage residents first.
Displays, invitations to comment and surveys by the developer have always been “this is what’s happening - like it or not”. They then use any resident’s feedback against us. Not one of the resident’s comments have been adopted in a satisfactory manner. The DVCA and Save Kingswood have not heard from the Developer for years.
🔺The developer has multiple responses on their website, belittling the value of wildlife and the park in general, in direct response to our objections (see examples further on)
🔺No preservation of the thousands of trees, estimated at 20,000 native Dingley Village trees, as that’s the number of indigenous trees planted.
🔺One of their plans showed a single tree preserved.
🔺Loss of the only significant treed open space in Dingley Village.
🔺The “lungs” cooling, filter and oxygen production for Dingley Village. As advocated by all councils.
🔺Unimaginable thousands of Birds and wildlife lost. How many will be killed or have their homes demolished by developers? The developers will be required to re-locate wildlife. They absolutely will not do that properly and is a hideous imposition for the wildlife currently living in comparative peace. How many thousands will they miss?
🔺Increased traffic - their own data suggests up to 6800 vehicle movements per day and 680 vehicle movements per peak hour, on a single lane road, plus soon (a) the Hawthorn Football Club traffic and (b) the Aqua Park traffic.
🔺Up to one hour to travel through Dingley Village when traffic increases - proven, as it’s already happened multiple times!
🔺Not enough Maternal Health places - waiting lists
🔺Child Care waiting lists
🔺Kinders already full
🔺Primary Schools full - portables installed on Dingley Primary preps front lawn playing area. In a recent year, Kingswood Primary turned away 75 applications.
🔺NO Secondary Schools - those in other distant towns full - portables installed and Parkdale Secondary has said “enough! we cannot have more portables”.
🔺Loss of an aircraft safety and noise buffer for thousands of circuits, take-offs and landings, including passenger Jets and Helicopters. Moorabbin Airport is just seconds flight time away and is one of Australia’s busiest Airports. The Golf Course is also the flight path and health plus noise issues are of concern. They already exceed limits
🔺Health services overloaded now, regularly wait up to 2-3 weeks for the Doctor of your choice.
🔺Lack of sporting facilities now, before 2,200+ extra residents
🔺The developer had the incredible audacity to show the flood lakes (retarding basins) plus overflow areas in their open space! Those flood areas will not be owned by them.
Dingley Village already floods, before they cover over the Golf Course and Aquifer. Melbourne water has almost no idea of flood incidents, that still occur after they tried to clear 1.4 kilometres of the main drain for a month! The existing Retarding Basin already overflows and mainly soaks into the Golf Course. They want to cover the site with paving, roads and buildings and fantasise that a new retarding basin will hold back the tsunami of waters from upstream Springvale and remain on the site.
🔺A homeowner close to the golf course park has been flooded for years.
🔺Shopping more difficult - the carpark is already regularly full, often twice a day - will residents again shop out of town to avoid the chaos?
🔺No developer will provide the $20 - $40 million needed to address the essential needs of Dingley Village.
🔺The Community Centre overloaded - already needs more space, not provided by the current re-modelling.
🔺A 20 percent increase in Village population - new town in the centre of town. Overloading a Village that is up to an hour away in peak traffic from Cheltenham railway station and the genuine Activity Centre.
🔺Years of Chaos, noise and Dust - a strain on medical facilities for asthma and other lung complaints. Proven in a nearby destruction!
🔺We are already meeting the State Government’s burden of over-population and providing enough housing.
🔺Expect more buses in your area, even though many run nearly empty now. Plus an attempt to re-introduce Bus Lanes on Centre Dandenong road, which was previously voted against by 96% of Dingley Village residents in two polls, including a Council poll. Bus lanes would create some of the narrowest road lanes in Melbourne, as Centre Dandenong road is a single lane
🔺NBN and other services clogged, so everyone endures a much slower connection than copper - proven in other areas.
🔺Sewer overloaded?
🔺Electricity huge demands will put stress on power, with potentially lower voltage and longer power outages
🔺Reduced mains water pressure
🔺We object to a massive roundabout at the intersection of Spring road/McClure roads, plus a second road into Spring road (near where it floods), and roads into Wolbers road and Toorak roads. Both the latter quiet back roads that will become “rat races” / speedways.
🔺We object to the main “speedway” between Spring road and Centre Dandenong roads.
🔺They want to move out the mobile phone tower on Kingswood, so will phone reception be terrible again?
🔺Expect scorched earth of biblical proportions, killing or displacing thousands of wildlife and nearly every tree tree destroyed. One plan showed 19 trees preserved, another showed just one tree preserved.
🔺Where will the snakes and blue-tongue lizards go? Yes! Into some of the 140 backyards, through the open weave cyclone fence. Both Species are protected.
🔺How many Birds, Echidnas and other wildlife will have their habitat destroyed? How many will be killed by greedy developers?
🔺No consideration for the 140 neighbours on the boundary. They were told when purchasing in a premium area that they had “views forever”. Instead they will have years of dust, plus overshadowing, loss of privacy and noise forever.
🔺Do residents know that loss of home values or views are not acceptable objections? But the 140 boundary residents and the close neighbours will lose thousands of dollars in their home value. The developer had the gall to say home values in Dingley Village would go up!! The home value losses to the nearby community could easily exceed $40 million. It’s reasonable to expect homes on the boundary would each lose at least $100,000 each - and their views.
🔺Little consideration for infrastructure
🔺No consideration for current services needs, nor those they will impose.
They will BUILD AND BOLT, fleecing Dingley Village, leaving misery and existing homes under threat and quickly forget us.
We repeat:
No Net benefit for Dingley Village
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Instead of trimming branches that are dangerously overhanging resident's boundaries and public areas like footpaths, the owners are regularly applying to remove trees on the Golf Course. Nobody is under threat from the Golf Course trees, so they are obviously part of the plan to demolish as many as possible, before applying for 823 dwellings.
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Don’t be Deceived!
“Love Dingley Village” Campaign by
Australian Super’s PR contractors!
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Australian Super and their contractors are asking Dingley Village residents what they want to see on Kingswood.
The sole reason is their next development application for hundreds of units will look better and tick one of the decision-maker’s boxes, if they claim to have “Consulted Residents”.
Their development Application version two is expected to mislead by claiming to have the answer to many of Melbourne’s housing and social problems - much to Dingley Village’s detriment.
Australian Super will still profit from hundreds of units - and we will have the overwhelming problems that brings.
See the white area below for the reasons why Council received
8,000 objections from Dingley Village Residents
If you reply to “What do you want to see on Kingswood?” We suggest:
OPEN SPACE
Or your choice of non-intrusive and improvement to Dingley Village amenity, like
OPEN SPACE and a HIGH SCHOOL
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Introduction
The Planning department is introducing a Standing Advisory Committee to review potential Golf Course redevelopments.
We see this as a weakening of the Council's role in local decision-making, however we can continue to object.
Kingswood already has a recreational - Golf use Zoning.
You can have your say when Kingswood comes before the committee.
Then later object to the Minister on any proposed redevelopment.
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The State Government has prepared draft Planning Guidelines for Golf Course Redevelopment, which include a decision-making framework to assess future golf course redevelopment proposals in the Melbourne urban area.
In August 2019 a 5-member Golf Course Redevelopment Standing Advisory Committee was appointed to review and implement these guidelines. Opportunity for public comment on the draft guidelines was given during September.
The Committee has also been appointed to advise the Minister for Planning on golf course redevelopment proposals requiring land rezoning. The draft guidelines propose the following key questions be used to assess a golf course redevelopment:
1/ Is there strategic merit in the proposal ?
2/ Are there particular site values or constraints ?
3/ Does the proposal deliver net community benefits ?
These guidelines and the appointment of this Committee impacts directly on Kingswood Golf Course and Dingley Village, as any future residential redevelopment proposals made to rezone Kingswood Golf Course from Special Use Golf Course could be referred to this Committee by the Minister for Planning for assessment.
In October 2019 the Committee will finalise the guidelines and present them to the Minister for Planning for approval.
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Then the Committee will begin taking referrals of redevelopment proposals and will include opportunities for parties (including residents) to comment on the particular proposal under consideration.
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The first proposal to be considered by this Committee is likely to be Kingswood Golf Course. Save Kingswood Golf Course Inc Secretary Kevin Poulter said he hoped the Committee and Planning Minister would take into account the massive number 8000+ objections received when Kingston Council voted unanimously against rezoning the Kingswood Golf Course for housing last year.
“Kingswood is the lungs and wildlife of Dingley Village and we have gone to considerable effort to ensure it would never be residential.”
Kevin Poulter added: “The Planning Minister said - he has always encouraged councils to make decisions in line with the expectations of their local community - I hope he can live up to his word.”
Also on January 16th 2018 Jane Homewood, Executive Director, Statutory Planning Services said:
“The Minister has not received any further proposal to rezone Kingswood Golf Course. Any such request would require a high degree of justification of the planning merits of the rezoning and address the Ministerial intervention requirements of section 20(4) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987”
More on the advisory committee HERE
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Note the draft Planning Decision Framework
Step 1: Golf course land development proposals will be required to follow the relevant planning processes,
and applications that involve rezoning may require ratification by both Houses of Parliament.
- Step 2: Golf course land development proposals will be required to respond to the planning decision framework for golf course land development proposals.
- Step 3: Future golf course land development proposals will be required to provide a net community benefit and high level of sustainability.
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We thank • Clare O'Neil MP • Mark Dreyfus MP • Martin Pakula MP • Inga Peulich MLC • Darrel Taylor, Candidate • Nina Springle, MP For their support and making their views known. Even the Planning Minister Wynne said recently "planning outcomes were better when the voice of the community is heard”.
Objection period has closed
Click on the links below for more
CLICK HERE for the latest on the Leader cover
Click HERE for The Greens Nina Springle objection
The Leader Sept. 5, 2018
Text from above article: Thousands fight estate Mass fight to halt 760-house development at golf course Lucy Callander ABOUT 7000 people have lodged an objection to plans for 760 houses on a former golf course — the most Kingston Council has ever received on a single issue. The Save Kingswood Group, which has been fighting plans for the rezoning and redevelopment of the Dingley Village site for years, said they had already delivered 6000 objections to the council and estimated another 500 had been lodged independently. “By cut off we would have had 7,000 objections,” the group’s secretary Kevin Poulter said. Mr Poulter said it was “most likely the most objections for a development of this type in Victoria’s history." Kingston’s Planning and Development General Manager Jonathan Guttmann confirmed that late last week more than 6500 submissions had been lodged about the proposal, a record number for a single issue. Save Kingswood stepped up its long running campaign about six weeks ago with members running stalls at supermarkets and the Dingley Village Farmers Market. Businesses and residents have also been posting “say no” signs around the suburb and a recent Save Kingswood meeting attracted more than 400 people. Property fund giant ISPT bought the 53.4ha site in 2014 for $125 million and developer ASRP1 wants to build a minimum of 760 dwellings on the site. Save Kingswood had raised concerns about a lack of schools, roads and sporting facilities, and the fact that the site was flood prone. Mr Poulter said the group wanted the State Government to buy the land and keep it as open space incorporating a wildlife sanctuary and playing fields. Keysborough State Labor MP Martin Pakula, Liberal candidate for Keysborough Darrel Taylor, Hotham MP Clare O’Neil, Isaacs Federal MP Mark Dreyfus, Liberal Member for South Eastern Metropolitan Region Peulich MLC, and Greens Member for South Eastern Metropolitan Region Nina Springle, have all publicly expressed concern about the plans. The project spokeswoman Anna Martiniello told the Leader their proposal was “very detailed and meets all the performance requirements sought by council officers”. “The proposal as presented will unlock previously private recreational and living space in the heart of Dingley Village, Ms Martiniello said." It is likely an independent planning panel will hear submissions and make recommendations to Kingston Council. Regardless of that outcome, Planning Minister Richard Wynne has the final say.
Hundreds have signed an online petition and objection against the residential redevelopment of Kingswood Golf Course. This ghetto plan is without precedent. Thereʼs nothing like it in a unique village like ours, and there is no net benefit for Dingley Village. Thereʼs a long list of disadvantages. (see below). There are almost no two-storey units in Dingley Village and they want to build hundreds of three-storey highest density units. Up to 1000 tiny units is so out of character, they would destroy an entire village and affect nearly 10,000 residents’ quality of life. A 20 percent increase in population is not possible without overloaded services, like schools, kinders, traffic and much more.
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There is ZERO Net Community Benefit for Dingley Village.
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Lodge your objection using our form Please either send completed forms to the drop-off points listed, or via email to us. Click on the trees for a form
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ITS CRUNCH TIME FOLKS - Public exhibition is announced! The Exhibition is for 6 weeks from July 19th. Come to the Village Meeting, 7pm August 14th at Southern Golf Course, Lower Dandenong road. Take Action NOW to Save Kingswood Golf Course From Destruction
Click HERE for the latest
The exhibition period will formally commence this Thursday 19 July, and will finish at the close of business on 30 August. The “exhibition” is not a big display like the one held in the Dingley International Hotel, rather just access to their plans. People who lodge submissions during the exhibition period, become ‘submitters’ that are required to be formally notified of further proceedings – including a potential Planning Panel process. Only people who are ‘submitters’ are able to be a party to a Panel process. People who have not made a submission can still be an observer at a Panel hearing. In addition to keeping a list of formal submitters, Council also has a register of interested parties. This register is a list of people that have asked to be kept updated on the project and that Council send emails to from time to time.
Unfortunately some residents lodged their objection directly with Council before the July 19 Exhibition, instead of sending them to one of the addresses nominated by Save Kingswood.
So Council sent letters to all of these people to let them know that they will need to re-lodge once exhibition has started in order for their submissions to be formally considered.
And for all the people that lodged an early submission that also supplied an email address, they have been added to Council's register of interested parties. Council will be sending an email to all of the people on the register later this week to let them know exhibition has started.
In addition to the email, letters will be sent via Australia Post to all residents and property owners in Dingley Village to let them know that exhibition has commenced.
Ads have been placed in
• local Leader newspapers,
• a notice will appear in the Government Gazette and
• Council will be using our social media channels to let people know.
• The proponent (developer) will also be placing signs on the site.
Hard copies of the exhibited material will be available to view at
• Council's Cheltenham office, and
• the Dingley Library.
• People will also be able to view the exhibited material online at the following locations:
• Online at www.yourkingstonyoursay.com.au or
• www.kingston.vic.gov.au/kingswood or
online at the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning website www.planning.vic.gov.au/public-inspection
Many delivery choices for the objection forms are below,
however we prefer 1, 2, 3, or 4, as we can keep track of the number of objections…
People can make a submission by doing any of the following; Post or Hand Deliver the signed objection submission forms to:
(1) Michael Benjamin and Associates at 117 Centre Dandenong Road (next to the Dingley Primary) or
(2) The Dingley Village Neighbourhood Centre (DVNC) 31B Marcus Rd, Dingley Village.
(3) Scan your signed form(s) then email to the Save Kingswood Group at savedingley@gmail.com
(4) See us at the Dingley Village Farmers Market on July 21st or or August 18th and deliver your form(s) or sign a form on the spot.
(5) Online at www.yourkingstonyoursay.com.au
(6) Emailing council at strategic.planning@kingston.vic.gov.au
(7) Posting a copy to City of Kingston, Strategic Planning Dept. PO Box 1000, Mentone 3194
Some people may wish to collect together bundles of submissions and lodge them by hand – you can do that at Council's Cheltenham office. Council will have a submission template available on their website if people wish to use it, however a written submission can be made in any format, as long as you provide your contact details, amendment name, and an outline of what you support or don’t support about the proposal.
The above website links will not be live until exhibition commences, so please don't lodge or email anything until Thursday 19 July.
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There is ZERO Net Community Benefit for Dingley Village.
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You Must Act NOW. You must voice your opinion NOW. You cannot wait until the bulldozers move in. Based on 2016 Census comparisons we calculate that household and population density on the proposed site will be more than double that of Dingley Village today, massively changing the character of our Village. Council tells us that the site will generate another 6,800 vehicle movements a day with 680 per peak hour. How could that possibly work? Centre Dandenong Road, Howard Rd. and Tootal Rd. are already choked over both extended peak times and Hawthorn Football Club is bringing more traffic.
An actual photograph of Centre Dandenong road when traffic was disrupted nearby. Future shock!
When asked how long a motorist had taken to go through Dingley Village, he replied "one hour"!!
Centre Dandenong road is only a single lane each way, despite traffic trying to make two lanes where possible.
When Vic Roads tried to make Centre Dandenong road have Bus Lanes, two surveys - one by council - resulted in a 94 percent resounding NO!
The developer had the audacity to title our road an Arterial.
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There is ZERO Net Community Benefit for Dingley Village.
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What’s Our Aim ?
Our aim is to put a stop to this disastrous proposal and, in agreement with Kingston Council’s Golf Course policy request the site remains as public or private open space for recreational use.
Thank you again for your support to date. Lets make this an all out effort NOW so that when the exhibition period expires your voices will evidence a massive NO vote from Dingley Village.
June 2018
The current status of our campaign
• The Golf Course cannot be built on without a rezoning, however the purchaser has grouped in a request for subdivision approval as well.
• Kingston Council will put the application and plans on display on July 19th 2018 for six weeks.
• "Display" does not mean Council will have another public meeting with maps and data, rather residents can view the plans at Council offices, the Library or on the web.
• Expect untold reams of text and plans. We will dissect them and find the more shocking information and items of greatest interest to residents and let you know. Of course we welcome feedback from residents who find unacceptable points too.
• We do not expect the developers to do a display, as they took a battering of objections at the last display
We will have a Village meeting - watch for our announcement!
• At the Council-run display held at the Dingley International, the Developer's Project Manager assured us their plans were on their website (or would be within days) and therefore "no need to take photos".
This turned out to be yet another "porkie" and nothing was added to their fuzzy illegible plans on their website.
Our subsequent request for their plans and drawings resulted in a long rambling reply, that so easily could have been one word - NO!
• Did you know that as soon as the current or future owners want to, (i.e. even right now) they can chainsaw more than 19,000 trees that do not meet the 1.1 metre circumference near their base?
Council has no plans to do anything about that!
• Ask politicians and the Planning Minister Richard Wynne to not delay a decision till after the election, as they are far more likely to listen to the voice of the people before an election, when OUR votes matter.
Is the process fair? Of course not!
• The developer had years to prepare their plans, produced by experts in bulldozing over residents and councils, which most likely cost half a million dollars or much more,
• Then at last minute we have 4-6 weeks to counter their hugely over-the-top descriptions, plans and illustrations.
• Council apparently did not publicly announce "businesses will receive a survey with an addressed envelope", however
• We are told residents will not receive a survey!
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Lodge your objection using our form
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Save Kingswood Golf Course from Destruction
Say NO to Rezoning, Say NO to Subdivision, Say NO to Residential Over-Development.
By now every Dingley Village resident should be aware of the looming disaster regarding the sale, rezoning and over development of the Kingswood Golf Course, Dingley's Central Park.
We agree with Kingston Council's policy of preserving Golf Courses for recreational use and that Kingswood Central Park should remain public or private open space and not destroyed and built out.
You can register your objection to the rezoning and over-development of the land by printing the objection form. Click on the image opposite.
Were you one of the 200+ residents who already sent your objection to Council?
If you did, unfortunately they cannot accept it until July 19th, so please fill in another one and send it to us, as above.
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Click on the photo above for the objection form
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Email us to be on our mailing list
with "Save Kingswood" in the subject
and your name and address. Click
HERE to email
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Webpage by
Save Kingswood Group Incorporated
For private study only
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