ANGER is mounting at Pakenham’s Lakeside where a new community housing development proposal has neighbours rising in protest.

Residents in the acclaimed Delfin estate last week vowed to oppose an application lodged with Cardinia Shire Council for a medium-density multi-unit development in Oaklands Way.

The $1.5 million proposal is for eight one-bedroom units and six two-bedroom units on a 2988 square metre vacant site.

Community Housing Limited (CHL) has bought the site, earmarking it for affordable housing for people with low incomes, said to be desperately needed in the Casey-Cardinia area.

But people living close by are concerned it will change the nature of their neighbourhood.

Vince Romea said many residents were outraged.

“There is a lot of concern,” Mr Romea said.

“This certainly is not what we expected when we moved here. Residents are concerned about the traffic that will result, the impact on our quality of life and the surrounding environment.”

Residents gathered on Monday to raise their concerns and said they would lobby councillors who are not expected to make a decision on the application for several weeks.

Lynette Wilkinson said she and husband Barry feared the development would result in extra noise and problems with car parking.

Jen and Rick Cramer questioned whether community housing tenants would take the same pride in the appearance of their area as residents who built their dream homes at Lakeside.

Residents were concerned the proposal did not fit the estate’s image. Lyn Edwards said she feared it would affect property values in the area.

But CHL manager Paul Ryan said the perception of community housing was a long way from reality.

Mr Ryan said Pakenham was already home to two CHL developments and most people would not know they were there.

“There is a common misconception about community housing and the facts play out very differently,” he said.

Mr Ryan said CHL was a best-practice, charitable organisation which developed and managed sustainable and affordable housing.

“CHL has an outstanding reputation in communities across the state and has an excellent record for the quality of its houses and services.”

Mr Ryan said there was a great shortage in Cardinia of the type of housing proposed in the development. He emphasised the application would deliver a high quality result that would not be out of place with its surrounds.

“There are some common misconceptions and fears about who will live there and they are completely false,” he said.

“The property will be managed by CHL and all the tenants will be carefully selected after successfully fulfilling our application process.

“The property will be offered to older Australians, young families and adults on their own with links to the Cardinia area and it will provide them with long-term affordable tenancies.”

Mr Ryan said he was happy to consult with residents and was confident their fears would prove unfounded.

“This is not an Office of Housing development,” he said.

“The people who are going to be housed there are no different from anyone else. They are not imported into the community from somewhere else, they are already in the community, already in Pakenham.”



>>> What’s your view? Contact the Gazette on 5941 2666 or email

editor@starnewsgroup.com.au