Chinese developers are considering turning green land near Dandenong, Victoria, into a 43-hectare theme park, raising concern among environmentalists trying to protect the area’s designated ‘green wedges’.

The land – purchased by Meixin Australia in August for US$5.3m (€4.2m, £3.3m) – is one of Melbourne’s ‘green wedges’, of land set aside in 1971 for farming and open space by then state premier Sir Rupert Hamer.

Dandenong mayor Jim Memeti says the land will be turned into a theme park, but opponents of the green wedge land have said it sets a “dangerous precedent.”

In wake of the potential development, campaigners have called on local parties to reinforce their commitment to protecting the south-eastern green wedge in the area, which covers about 93sq km.

Registered as a company on 10 July by two Chinese-born residents, details about what will feature in Meixin Australia’s park have not yet been revealed.