MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors have decided to hold off progressing a proposed development plan of a multi-owned 573-hectare site within the Dromana-Arthurs Seat escarpment until thorough community consultation is undertaken.
The escarpment encompasses the Arthurs Seat state park (managed by Parks Victoria), the currently degraded Hillview Quarries and inactive Pioneer Quarries (both owned by the Ross Trust), and the Hillview Community Reserve and the Parkdale Estate, both of which are owned by the state government and managed by council.
The site is recognised as a key landmark on the peninsula by supporting habitat restoration, outdoor recreation, agriculture, and rock extraction, while also holding “deep cultural heritage significance” as it is classified as National Trust landscape.
Council allocated $225,000 towards the development of the Dromana-Arthurs Seat Escarpment Management Plan in its 2023-24 budget to guide the future use and development of the subject land with a “balanced plan that considers the wide-ranging needs and competing stakeholder objectives”.
Councillors were presented an update of the plan’s progress at their 8 April meeting with shire officers recommending that a public expression of interest be undertaken to identify potential service providers/land managers that are “capable of developing and managing the Parkdale Estate”.
According to the council’s report, “The primary risk associated with developing the plan relates to council’s inability to ultimately deliver the anticipated recommendations and actions as most of the land is not owned or directly managed by council”. “This risk has the potential to result in the development of a plan that has little capacity to be implemented by council.”
But Brokil Ward councillor Cr Patrick Binyon successfully led an alternative motion to “pause” any decision on the escarpment management plan including the Parkdale Estate until September to allow enough time for extensive community consultation. Binyon raised concerns that the consultation process had “not been as robust or comprehensive as it should be” with the community having “expressed a desire to be actively involved in shaping the future of our region, yet we have not been presented with a clear, detailed report on the consultation efforts today”. “I ask to delay the decision until a detailed report can be provided. This report should outline the full scope of the community consultation, who was consulted, how they were consulted and what feedback was received,” he said at the meeting.
Binyon also addressed the shire’s allocation of $125,000 to employ a strategic planning project officer over 12 months to progress the project, saying it was “crucial that we understand how this funding has been used, what specific task did the staff member undertake and how was this allocation justified”.
He also noted the Parkdale Estate master plan would be developed alongside the Dromana-Arthurs Seat escarpment management plan, with the outcomes of the escarpment plan to guide the planning development of the Parkdale Estate.
“Given most of the area is zoned as public conservation and resource … the purpose is clear: to conserve the natural environment, protect historic and cultural values, and offer facilities for public education while minimising environmental degradation,” he said. “The vision for this plan should represent the collective will of the community, guiding it in a way that aligns with the shared goals and needs of all involved.”
The shire was appointed as a committee of management for the Parkdale Estate in April 2023, which has been temporarily reserved for public recreation. But as the site is Crown Land, it would need approval from the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Change to lease the estate to potential proponents to develop. Shire officers had proposed this option as “there is a political risk if the plan is not progressed as there is likely to be an expectation by some members of the community that this plan be completed”. “There may also be an expectation that a master plan be developed for Hillview Community Reserve and the Parkdale Estate, as this was to be undertaken following finalisation of the plan.”
As of December 2021, Hillview Quarries, owned by the R E Ross Trust, announced it would no longer pursue plans for a fully operational quarry at the former Pioneer Quarry site on Boundary Road, Dromana. “Instead, the company intends to explore rehabilitation options in accordance with Victorian Government-mandated requirements,” the council report said.
If the escarpment plan did proceed, relevant external projects and developments include the Arthurs Seat Eagle expansion proposal, the Dromana Association’s community forest proposal within the Parkdale Estate (with the association expressing interest in leasing the Parkdale Estate to progress their proposal), and Parks Victoria’s plan to expand and improve bike trails within Arthurs Seat State Park.
Cr David Gill, whose Coolart Ward takes in part of Dromana, also supported the decision to pause the plans, saying “my wish is that we put the effort into Dromana that it deserves”.
First published in the Mornington News – 22 April 2025
