Cardinia council and AusNet are investigating ways to retain what is left of the original Heritage Springs light fittings, though it is still ‘unclear’ whether a solution can be found.
Last month, residents of the Pakenham estate revolted against Cardinia Shire Council as they proceeded to replace the original custom lamp fittings amongst a program to update the lights to energy-efficient LEDs.
Local councillor Collin Ross put a halt to the process in the June council meeting, successfully passing a motion enforcing the council to find a solution which retained the fittings left.
In the latest meeting on Monday 15 July, councillors considered an update to the matter which showed solutions are being considered in collaboration with AusNet.
Councillors reported that the matter has caught the attention of other areas in the shire who wish to protect their unique lighting.
“I welcome this report, I think the most important thing is that AusNet are looking into the options that are available,” Cr Ross said.
“I do know there are other areas now that are talking about this and they want to keep their distinct value in their area too.”
375 lights and their fittings were changed over in Heritage Springs, the report said.
Those remaining are located at the entrance of Heritage Boulevard, the eastern part of Livingstone Boulevard and some associating streets, as well as a number of small streets just west of Henry Lawson Drive.
The council reports AusNet are reviewing a ‘retrofit LED Globe’ for the purpose of retaining the original light fitting which still remains.
Resident Jillian Ronald is glad the lights are being saved, but is angered by the fact that there were seemingly options to explore.
“They haven’t been very transparent, they got rid of 375 of these lights when there was an alternative as AusNet are looking into,” she said.
“They decided there was no consultation because there were no other options, when there was.
“No one was aware this was happening, we didn’t get one of those letters about replacement, I would say a lot didn’t get them.”
This globe is still undergoing a process of approval by AusNet and the council has not received ‘formal confirmation’ that it can be used.
The report said these globes use ‘over twice’ the energy of those approved in the original program.
There are also ‘spill’ and ‘compliance’ issues with Australian standards that will affect AusNet’s decision to approve.
Despite these complexities raised in the report, Cr Ross thinks it shouldn’t be a ‘race to the bottom’.
“I don’t think Pakenham and Cardinia Shire should turn into a race to the bottom to see if we can put up the cheapest, most economic lights that we can,” Cr Ross.
“If we don’t do something to protect these lights, why would a developer or anybody ever spend any money on doing anything better.”
Potential cost issues are at stake, the report says the council may lose AusNet’s financial support, while additional costs could arise from a replacement’s higher energy usage.
The council calculated the project could have as much as $177,000 added to the price tag.
If a replacement is approved the report said there will follow a new extensive consultation, matters like creating ‘logical groupings’ to not create an ‘uneven appearance’ will be considered.
Afterward, a further report providing an account of the consultation period for the program was given – instigated by Cr Davies last month.
“It was extremely concerning to hear that residents were saying, not only did we not like this, but we didn’t even know,” Cr Davies said.
“I know we have community engagement policies, what went wrong?”
The report said the council’s Communication and Engagement team determined ‘no opportunity’ for residents to ‘influence’ the matter and an ‘inform only approach’ was taken.
What followed was ‘consistent’ with policies where residents were informed through a ‘media release, mail outs, social media posts, connect and e-newsletter articles and leaflets’.
Cr Davies accepted the report, but still expressed concern over the matter.
“This is not an example of things going well, but processes have been followed,” Cr Davies said.
“I do hope that there is some community trust left because we have investigated this and sought answers.”
Both reports were supported by councillors and noted.
