Owners desperate to reopen Boronia’s Old Orchard Winery after lease expiry

COUNCIL red tape has left a once-thriving Boronia winery rundown and overgrown after a lease on the land expired a year ago, its former owners say. Wantirna South couple David and Pat Smith said they were “desperate” to reopen their award-winning Old Orchard Winery in Scoresby Rd after their nine-year lease to manage it expired last year. Smith said Knox Council, which manages the 8ha site on Crown land, had only offered him a month-by-month lease, forcing him to vacate on July 31 last year.