The state government has given the green light to up to 1,100 new homes on a former Oakleigh South quarry and landfill, but with a public open space contribution of just 2.71 percent, well below Monash Council’s 7.61 percent minimum.

The rundown: The site, a former quarry and landfill at 1221-1249 Centre Road, spreads over almost 19 hectares.

  • The approved amendment outlines the project would have to make a public open space contribution of 2.71 percent, significantly lower than Monash Council’s minimum of 7.61 percent.

  • Site developer Sterling Global’s plans include 2.87 hectares of public open space, including parks, a wetland reserve and a village square.

  • In a statement to the Eastern Melburnian, Sterling Global CEO Neil Li said both geotechnical and environmental investigations had been underway since the company acquired the site, adding that under findings from environmental audit, no site remediation was required. Li said the next stage of the project would be ground improvement across the site.

  • The Eastern Melburnian reached out to Sterling Global to address questions concerning the open space contributions, but the developers refused to comment further.

Oakleigh South set for 1,100-home development on former landfill site, as government overrides council concerns

The plans include 10 percent of the dwellings as affordable housing.

The rules: Developers must contribute a certain amount of land or pay a percentage of its value towards public open space when subdividing land for housing.

  • Developers can contribute land, money or a combination of both, with council policy favouring cash contributions in most circumstances.

How’d we get here? Sterling Global initially proposed making no public open space contribution.

  • Monash Council argued this would give the site a privilege other developments did not have.

Who's responsible for the 1,100 new homes proposed for Oakleigh South?

If approved, plans outline the construction of hundreds of dwellings that will house around 2,500 residents. But who’s in charge of making it happen?

What council said: Monash Council mayor Stuart James said the contribution should be restored to the standard 7.61 percent rate.

  • 🗣️ “Reducing the contribution … means less funding is available to help meet the open space needs generated by the development, increasing pressure on existing parks and shifting the cost onto the wider community,” he told the Eastern Melburnian.

What they said: A spokesperson for the state government said the development would include an “extensive network of publicly accessible open space, including local parks and a Village Square”.

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