A PLAN to construct a cemetery on Green Wedge land in Heatherton has collapsed.
Kingston mayor Steve Staikos announced that the Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust had recently advised council that it now has no plans to proceed with a cemetery in Kingston’s Green Wedge.
“This is great news as that area is some of Kingston’s best agricultural land and is home to a number of productive market gardens, which have been a key part of the Kingston landscape for decades,” Cr Staikos said.
“Council wants to see local market gardens continue for years to come. While we appreciate that the Trust needs to provide burial sites for our city, this just wasn’t the right location.
“This part of the Green Wedge is low-lying and flood prone. It would have had to be covered by several metres of fill, which would have buried much of the agricultural land. This would have required many years of earthworks before anyone could actually be buried there.
“At present, uncertainty wreaks havoc on the property market. Potential investors are discouraged from moving into the Green Wedge with the prospect of compulsory acquisitions looming large over the land.”
In 2015 the Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust had advised Kingston Council that it was considering acquiring approximately 130 hectares of land in Heatherton to develop the memorial park.
The Kingston mayor at the time Geoff Gledhill signalled his support for the project.
The proposed cemetery was earmarked for the area bordered by Kingston and Boundary Roads, Pietro, Madden, Old Dandenong Road and Ross Street.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 3 October 2018