MORE than 2000 people have signed a petition opposing plans to build more than 900 lots on the former Kingswood Golf Course in Dingley Village.
The golf course is owned by developer Satterley, which is pushing ahead with the redevelopment and has begun advertising properties at the site. The state government approved a development plan for the Kingswood site in late 2025, and a subdivision planning permit application is currently being considered by the Department of Transport and Planning.
The petition opposing the project was tabled in Parliament in June, and debated by MPs late last month. Liberal MP Ann-Marie Hermans, who brought the petition to Parliament, said that serious flooding concerns warrant intervention.
“This is a petition that has been done by the people of Dingley Village and the local area, who are fighting so hard and have continued to fight to have an appropriate development, if any development at all, on this particular golf course,” Hermans said. “This government made promises about building houses, and it decided that it was going to build something like 80,000 houses. Well, we know it has fallen short of that. But this particular area is not suitable for this additional housing that they want to build.
“It is a well known flood-prone area. There are no flood control measures that have been implemented, with billions of litres of water that have not been accounted for by the hydrology and regular large floods that take place in the wet season.”
Environmental concerns were shared across the political divide; Greens MP Sarah Mansfield said “with respect to the impact on ecology and green space, the final plans for the development of the golf club in Dingley Village do little to preserve the trees and biodiversity of the site, nor do they respond to resident and council concerns regarding flood controls. By not considering canopy cover loss and flooding risk, this is not a climate-resilient development.”
Planning minister Sonya Kilkenny offered her official response to the petition on 20 August. She wrote that the redevelopment has “undergone significant community consultation and review by the Department of Transport and Planning.”
“The assessment of the subdivision application includes consideration of stormwater management, infrastructure delivery, site, open space and lot layouts, vegetation removal and other matters to support the redevelopment of the site,” Kilkenny wrote. “Relevant authorities, including Melbourne Water, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, South East Water, Head, Transport for Victoria, United Energy and Kingston City Council have been consulted on the proposed subdivision application. Advice from these authorities will be considered in the final assessment of the subdivision application before a decision is made.”
In April, Kingston Council agreed to write to the Department of Transport and Planning and the planning minister to urge that the redevelopment be halted. After the state government’s approval of the Kingswood development plan in late 2025, Kingston Council suffered an embarrassing blunder after failing to lodge an appeal with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal until four days after the required deadline (“Council calls for Kingswood plan change” The News, 5/5/2026).
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 9 September 2026