Wedged out

I WAS disappointed to read the comments made by the City of Casey’s Strategic Development Manager, Mr Liam Hodgetts, in your story “Casey review is slammed” (Gazette 13/11).
He created the impression that, because the “townships” of Narre Warren North and Harkaway are already in the Urban Growth Boundary and thus outside the study area, the issue of the proposed reduction of the minimum lot size in the Casey Foothills is not the concern of the residents of these villages.
Mr Hodgetts fails to acknowledge the ongoing 10-year crusade to have the Harkaway Village put back into the Casey Foothills Southern Ranges Green Wedge from which it should never have been removed. Moreover, by calling the Harkaway Village a township, he is downgrading the importance of its contained rural hamlet character that the residents so cherish.
As a strategic development manager, presumably employed for his expertise and impartiality, I believe he should be aware of the historical background to the circumstances that led to Harkaway being mistakenly excised from the green wedge.
Helen Comport,
Friends of Harkaway Village,
Harkaway.