Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs A vast swath of land on Melbourne’s northern fringe should be locked away quickly for a new park before it is snapped up by developers for new housing and industry, Victoria’s environment department has urged the state government.More than six years ago, the state Labor government committed to investigate a proposal to create a regional park on rural land used for generations for farming but will be developed over the next 10 years into several new housing and industrial estates between Craigieburn and Wallan.The current president of the Wallan Environment Group Norbert Ryan (left), and former presidents Cr Claudia James and Rob Eldridge on Green Hill, Wallan, with the drained Hernes Swamp and the Wallara Waters housing estate behind them. Credit: Penny StephensIt would potentially be the largest park in Melbourne’s outer north, providing an environmental refuge for native wildlife and an expansive outdoor escape for hundreds of thousands of residents of booming outer suburbs such as Kalkallo, Donnybrook and Beveridge.But the government was warned three years ago that the window of opportunity to secure the land was closing, as the area being proposed for the regional park is mostly in private hands and likely to increase in value, and potentially be carved up for housing.Victoria’s Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Change has urged the government to apply a public acquisition overlay on the land “as soon as is practicable” to avoid a blowout in costs, as property values inflate due to demand from residential and industrial developers.The park could potentially span an area of up to 2888 hectares – about 76 times the size of Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens – taking in the headwaters of Merri Creek, Kalkallo Creek and four volcanic cones that are landmarks for travellers on the Hume Freeway.The twin volcanic cones of Mount Fraser, long a landmark for Hume Freeway travellers, would be included in the regional park. Credit: Penny StephensLocal environmental volunteers hope the park will encompass a network of drained swamps that would be revived into a healthy wetland. They point to work conducted by Yarra Valley Water that restored a small part of Hernes Swamp as an experiment in 2020. The area exploded with native birdlife within one season, becoming a breeding ground for black swans.Campaigner and former local councillor Rob Eldridge said the swamps and creek lines were degraded after many years of being drained and used for agriculture but could be restored in a short time.
