THE street may share the same name as redundant, pro-development Planning Minister Justin Madden.

But around ritzy Madden Grove, Kew, residents value the character of their streets – and are prepared to pay to avoid being overrun by medium density development.

In an extraordinary deal, a local resident has paid a speculated $9 million for the former University of Melbourne Early Childhood Development campus, which the school sold 12 years ago, and was to become that suburb’s next major apartment complex.

The imposing property at 6 – 12 Madden Grove has been handpassed to a variety of developers since 1999. What was a 4973 square metre campus that started at #2, was sliced to become a 3502 square metre site, which was offered for sale late last year.