Maroondah City Council agreed to abandon the proposed sale of land at 47A Maidstone Street, Ringwood at its meeting held on Monday 16 July, 2007.

Councillor Alex Makin said that before selling any Council owned land, a range of community consultation measures must be followed.

“Council takes its role as steward of land assets seriously and has an ongoing review process in place to ensure all Council assets are being used to the best of their ability for community purposes,” said Cr Makin.

“With any proposed sale of land, the community are consulted and their feedback is encouraged and welcomed. In some instances these sales are supported by the community, however, there are times when the community are against the proposal,” said Cr Makin.

“This is the reason why we have the community consultation period, to allow the community to have their say before any decisions are made,” said Cr Makin.

Council received 55 written submissions, including a petition bearing 121 signatures, regarding the proposed sale of 47A Maidstone Street, Ringwood. All submissions were against the sale of land.

“Council has listened to the community and will not be taking any further action regarding the proposed sale of this property. A new playground will be installed on the land in the coming weeks,” said Cr Makin.