A community-led sustainability fund will, for the first time, encourage residents of an upcoming residential development near Melbourne to engage with eco-conscious living in their own homes.
Established by award-winning Victorian developer Moremac at their Sunbury residential development project, Kingsfield, the Kingsfield Sustainability Fund Inc. employs a collaborative grassroots model to empower future residents to adopt eco-friendly initiatives in their homes and within the community. The fund will provide a framework for the Kingsfield community to hold money and property to be used for initiatives such as electric car charging stations, solar battery sites, revegetation areas and community gardens.
Major businesses such as Origin Energy and Green Sky Australia have come on-board as partners, according to Moremac director Bryce Moore.
“Each time residents take part in sustainable housing solutions, such as the installation of solar panels into their new homes, money will be able to be contributed into the fund.
“For example, both Origin Energy and Green Sky Australia have agreed to donate $250 each time they are selected as a solar panel provider – this is further incentivised by Moremac with a $2,225 contribution for home owners towards the cost of their solar panels.
“In addition, a site has been identified to be gifted to the fund and used for sustainability related initiatives to be nominated by the Kingsfield Community. We expect that more sites will be identified as the development progresses, providing the opportunity for the community to plan its own environmental projects. Land and funding together will provide the community with the ability to develop their own sustainability projects.”
Located 40 kilometres north-west of the Melbourne CBD, the new Sunbury estate, Kingsfield is a modern masterplanned community designed to offer homesites, community facilities, shopping precincts, landscaped playgrounds as well as sporting and recreation facilities, with 50 percent of the site dedicated to open space.
In recognition of their initiatives that promote more sustainable development and improved environmental performance, Moremac was honoured at the Urban Development Institute of Australia’s Victorian awards last year in the Environmental Excellence category for their Point Lonsdale project, The Point.
Image: A section of the Kingsfield Sunbury masterplan
