BROOKLYN residents are calling on Hobsons Bay Council to “honour its commitment” to develop a large open space on the site of a house it bought in Cypress Avenue.
The council plans to subdivide a property at 31 Cypress Avenue and create a four-metre-wide walkway before selling the surplus land.
The council last week voted to nominate a subcommittee to hear a submission from the Brooklyn Residents Action Group (BRAG), which is calling for the whole block to be turned into a 15-metre walkway.
BRAG secretary Bert Boere said the group objected to the council’s plan to subdivide and sell part of the land.
“BRAG calls on all councillors to honour this decision made in the 2012-13 budget and proceed to develop 31 Cypress Avenue as a large open space area linking the two Brooklyn communities,” he said.
“Through a request from BRAG in 2011, on behalf of all Brooklyn residents [former] councillor [Michael] Raffoul requested that Hobsons Bay Council allocate $550,000 in its 2011-12 capital budget to buy a property to allow for opening up the two sides of Brooklyn.”
Mr Boere said selling the property would leave a four-metre easement for the community with the remaining land sold for housing development.
“This is a totally unsatisfactory outcome for the Brooklyn community and is not what was envisaged, nor is it what the funding was originally allocated for.”
A subcommittee of councillors Angela Altair, Tony Briffa and Sandra Wilson will hear the submission on Tuesday.
