This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
AUSTRALIA’S largest super fund is moving to sell an unused Melbourne golf course it has held for nine years, with plans to rezone the land and build hundreds of homes stalled by the state government.
AustralianSuper, which manages $300 billion for three million people, bought the Kingswood Golf Course site, in the sandbelt region, in 2014 for $100 million.
Attempts to rezone the land and build more than 800 homes were first blocked in 2018 when Kingston Council yielded to the objections of 8,000 residents and abandoned rezoning. The decision was then put in the hands of then-Planning Minister Richard Wynne.
A special advisory committee set up for the land made recommendations, but its report never saw the light of day. It is currently with Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny.
“The advisory committee’s recommendations about the Kingswood Golf Course proposal have been submitted and are currently under consideration,” a spokesperson for the government told The Age.
On the Gold Coast, developer 3Group is proposing a $150 million redevelopment of the 67-hectare former Arundel Hills Country Club and has sought council support for its low density housing project following community criticism.
Earlier this year, Western Australia’s Planning Minister Rita Saffioti has moved to change the planning scheme for the former Glen Iris Golf Course land.
