Legal threat over vegetation removal

LEGAL action is being considered after vegetation was cleared from Green Wedge land in Langwarrin without council permission.

Frankston Council alleges that vegetation has been illegally removed from 565 McClelland Drive. The site, next to Peninsula Private Hospital, is designated inside the Green Wedge in Frankston Council’s 2019 Green Wedge Management Plan.

At last week’s public council meeting, Frankston Council CEO Phil Cantillion said that council is aware of vegetation removal and is considering its next steps. He said it is the responsibility of landowners to “ensure that they have the appropriate permissions in place before undertaking works to their property. In this case the vegetation was removed without a planning permit.”

“Council does not tolerate works being carried out without a planning permit. There are a number of enforcement actions available to council including through VCAT and the Magistrates’ Court, and council will consider which actions are appropriate once it concludes its investigations – which could include remedies for lost habitat.”

The land was sold in April 2023 for $600,000. Cantillon did not name the owner last week – The Times understands that the owner is an individual from Mount Waverley. Vegetation removal at the site has been taken to the courts in the past. Hasstta Holdings purchased the property for $550,000 in 2006, and was convicted at the Frankston Magistrates Court in 2009 for removing native vegetation at the site without a permit (“Protest hinders wedge land sale” The Times 6/8/2014).

First published in the Frankston Times – 21st May 2024