Campaign to “Say No to McDonalds in the Dandenongs” kicks of with public meeting in Tecoma

Approximately 250-300 people gathered at the public “Say no to McDonalds” meeting in Tecoma on May 6th. The large public showing which exceeded organizers expectations had the air of quiet determination about it as the audience, some with homemade protest signs heard how the meeting was just the beginning of what will inevitably be a long campaign. The proposal for a McDonalds in Tecoma was referred to as the “thin edge of the wedge” that will pave the way for the proliferation of multinational fast outlets across the townships of the Dandenong Ranges, destroying the unique character of the “The Hills” compared to the more urbanized parts of Melbourne. The development application with the Shire of Yarra Ranges by McDonalds is expected to be lodged within a fortnight. It is the second controversial proposal for the site proposed by developer Joel Freeman, whose plan to lease the land to supermarket giant Coles was defeated last year by the local community at VCAT
Related: Tecoma Village Action Group McDonalds Campaign Page -- Coverage in the Belgrave Ferntree Gully Mail -- More photos

The strength of community opposition to the proposal was demonstrated by the unanimous passing of a motion from the floor during the meeting that declared “This group rejects and will participate in actively opposing McDonalds across the Dandenong Ranges”.

The meeting heard from a number of speakers including Ian Simpson and Kerry Davis from the “No McDonalds in Knoxfield” group which recently successfully defeated a proposed McDonalds through VCAT. They shared with the meeting some of their successful strategies such as lobbying local councilors to refute McDonalds bogus claims about how much they will contribute to the local community. They also emphasized how vital written objections to councillors were from individuals and that how actually turning up at Council and VCAT meetings was also hugely important.

Local Shire of the Yarra Ranges Councillor for the Lyster Ward Samantha Dunn, who is a member of the Greens, also spoke to the meeting to explain the planning process. McDonalds is expected to lodge the application with the Shire within a fortnight. At that point she explained that people would have the opportunity to lodge written submissions with the Shire of Yarra Ranges about the proposal. Samantha emphasized that submissions that directly address the Planning Schedule will carry more weight. These include issues such as traffic, the built form of the proposal, hours of opening, impact on local residents and impact on the character and amenity of the area. She also urged letters be sent to all councillors on the Shire, not just her, as the local member as ultimately it will be the whole council which votes on the proposal.

A statement of support from the local State ALP member James Merlino was also read to the meeting. James summed up the sentiments of many when he expressed that a proposal that may be completely acceptable in a fully urbanized area of the Shire was not acceptable in the Dandenong Ranges as it will destroy the very specialness that attracts people to both live and visit this beautiful region to begin with. He also expressed concern that the Tecoma proposal would be the “thin edge of the wedge” for similar developments across the Ranges. He pledged to help the campaign in whatever way he could in the future.

Members of the TVAG committee repeatedly emphasized that this meeting was just the beginning and that if the local community wanted to win they would have to stick with the campaign in the future to help raise money, write objections and help in other ways. They were encouraged to join or donate money or time to TVAG to help out.

As stated, this is the second controversial and inappropriate proposal in 12 months for this site in Tecoma, by the developer Joel Freeman. Last year he proposed demolishing the historic Hazelvale Dairy, now home to a local Indian restaurant and a café, to lease the land for a large Coles supermarket. This proposal was opposed by the Shire of Yarra Ranges and defeated at VCAT largely on traffic grounds. Like the current proposal it would have involved a large, visually dominating and disruptive impact on the local community. The Dandeong Ranges are dotted with small to medium sized townships amidst some beautiful bushland and farming areas. The local community in Tecoma are showing that they are prepared to fight to protect the character of this area from being subsumed into just another group of suburbs dominated by the same corporate logo’s and businesses. On one level this is a planning dispute but on another this is a battle of a sense of localized place versus the cultural domination of multi-national corporations. One thing is clear, only a strong committed campaign by the local community can help keep “The Hills” the special and unique place they currently are.