We’ve received quite a few comments of late relating to the Council/MRC ‘agreement’ and the fact that the promised actions have not eventuated. If anything, the MRC has gone on its merry way, totally ignoring Council and the community.
Adding insult to injury is the total silence by the Special Committee (Lipshutz, Pilling, Hyams and Esakoff) – as well as the administration. Apart from 2 planning applications not a word has come from these sources. Nor have we heard a single mutter from the Trustees – Magee, Forge, and Tang (when the latter actually makes it to meetings!) Nothing but nothing has been reported upon: no ‘progress’ reports, no minutes, no media releases, no statements. Residents have been left dangling with no information and no knowledge of what is really going on. Once again Council mission statements of transparency and accountability belong to the Goebbel’s school of propaganda (to use an old Lipshutz analogy).
The only information to eke out has been the result of public questions demanding explanations for the failure to inform residents of street closures. The pathetic response included:
“The recent notification provided by Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) to residents for the Caravan and Camping Show was disappointing and unacceptable and the MRC has been so advised. Consequently as a basis for more timely notification to residents, Council officers have advised the MRC that a calendar of all their future events is to be provided .
The process is that a traffic management plan is prepared by the MRC and reviewed by Council for every event that is expected to significantly impact traffic conditions in the vicinity of the Racecourse Reserve.
As traffic management arrangements are continually being trialled to ensure impacts to residents are minimised (and different events have different traffic management requirements), no formal agreement can be put in place with the MRC regarding which roads would be impacted (and for how long) or which roads are closed.“
Has this ‘calendar’ materialised? What does ‘significant’ mean? Is ‘no formal agreement’ a euphemism for ‘the MRC can continue to do what it likes, when it likes?’
As to the events themselves, here is a list of what’s been happening at the Racecourse for the past 8 months or so and how ‘access’ for the public has been handled. We’ve probably missed some, so the list shouldn’t be seen as complete.
|
EVENT |
DURATION |
GATES |
|
Caulfield Guineas |
1 day |
closed |
|
Caulfield Cup |
1 day |
closed |
|
Baby & Kids Market |
1 day |
|
|
Sewing & Craft Show |
4 days |
|
|
Monash Exams |
5 days |
|
|
Platinum Play Family Fund Day |
1 day |
Queen’s Ave closed |
|
Monash Exams |
10 days |
|
|
Carlton & United Breweries Family Xmas Day |
1 day |
Queen’s Ave closed |
|
Wholesale Direct Shopping Evening |
1 evening |
|
|
Mathilda Market |
1 day |
|
|
Building & Construction Workers xmas |
1 day |
Closed (high noise level) |
|
Metricon Xmas Function |
1 day |
|
|
Harvest & Graze |
1 day |
|
|
Caravan & Camping Show |
6 days |
Closed – used for parking |
|
Twins Plus Festival |
1 day |
|
|
Caulfield Farmers’ Market |
1 day |
|
|
Carex – Health & Aged Expo |
2 days |
|
|
Age VCE Career Expo |
4 days |
|
|
Caulfield Farmers’ Market |
1 day |
|
|
Open University Exams |
4 days | |
| Early Childhood Development |
2 days |
|
|
Circus (one already held & one upcoming) |
2 MONTHS (WITH SOME DAYS 2 SHOWS A DAY) |
Just these figures alone give us a tally of roughly 130 days. Wouldn’t it be good to know how much REVENUE Council receives as a result of all these fixtures? Or does it all go to the MRC and not a cent returned to Council?
Surely if this venue is to hold so many events then a traffic management plan IS essential and should be made public. It is also incumbent on Council to ensure that all gates are open as per the agreement.
The issue of fences, pathways and other ‘developments’ in the centre, we will leave to another post.
Glen Eira Debates 
June 3, 2012 at 1:21 PM
What should also go onto the list are the 27 racing days. That means that over a third of the year is taken up with events and traffic for local residents. Council’s answer to the public question doesn’t exonerate them and only shows that they’ll bend over backwards to support anything that the mrc wants to do. We need to remember all this in October.
June 3, 2012 at 2:03 PM
Excuse me but can someone please explain what exactly “different events have different traffic management requirements” means.
I concede that different events have different set up and dismantling requirements but the road closures etc. do not occur during those times. The road closures are during the event – the way people get to the event (walk, public transport, vehicles) doesn’t change and neither does the road layout – the only thing that changes is the volume of people (it goes from mega to super mega).
So what exactly does the above quote mean other than “we don’t have traffic management plan and only pretending that we do”.
June 3, 2012 at 2:24 PM
By the way, the removal of horse training from the racecourse should also be added to the list of things the Council hasn’t done. In 2009 a joint communique was issued by the MRC and Council that within 10 years horse training would be removed from Caulfield Racecourse.
Not a word since – don’t you think it’s time for another update?
June 3, 2012 at 5:14 PM
Don’t just blame the Councillors – check out this long gloating address to Parliament from the member for Caulfield – apparently he was the one who instigated the agreement that the MRC have now voided.
Mr SOUTHWICK — I address my adjournment matter to the Minister for Environment and Climate Change. The minister would be aware that last week an agreement was reached between the Melbourne Racing Club and the City of Glen Eira that will provide more public use of the centre of Caulfield racecourse. My electorate of Caulfield is aware of my efforts to provide more open space in the electorate. As I have said on numerous occasions, the city of Glen Eira has the lowest amount of open space of any municipality, and my constituents are naturally interested in maximising the open space available. The Caulfield racecourse is part of Crown land that is considered open space, but it has had little promotion and few facilities available to the public. Caulfield is a great racecourse that is world renowned, but outside of race day it remains empty and underutilised.
The agreement that I was part of facilitating between the Melbourne Racing Club and the City of Glen Eira means that the Melbourne Racing Club will provide $1.8 million to upgrade the park. The new park within the Caulfield racecourse will be open outside of race day on some 352 days of the year. It will have five precincts, including a picnic area by the lake, a large dog-off-leash area, walking and jogging paths, areas for fishing and a junior soccer pitch. All of these will exist inside a racecourse. I am extremely happy with what has been achieved for Caulfield by improving access to the centre of the racetrack.
Mr SOUTHWICK — Access to the centre of the racetrack and the creation of a wonderful new resource will be greatly appreciated by my constituents.
This is a great story for Caulfield: it means that for the first time the Caulfield Racecourse will not only be a racecourse but it will be a park as well.
It will provide an amenity not just for the people of Caulfield to be able to share and enjoy but for the people of Victoria as well. I am very proud to have been involved in discussions to ensure that this will happen. I thank the City of Glen Eira for its negotiations and its fine work, and I also thank the Melbourne Racing Club for coming together on this very important announcement. ”
Where oh where is Southwick to ensure that this will happen……………….
June 3, 2012 at 5:34 PM
Southwick really lost me on this, he initially came out saying he was voting no to C60 and then had a change of mind. Mind you, he’s no Robinson Crusoe. The Greens had as party policy the opening up of Caulfield Racecourse and Sue Pennicuik also address Parliament (reads a lot like Southwick’s speech!). And then this comment from Neil Pilling on why he signed the agreement that the MRC are now refusing to enforce:
“To reject this agreement as some of my collegues are urging would place at great risk the entire range of community benefits negotiated and also the future co-operation and the good-will advanced between parties to deliver these. This would be a retrograde step- a risk I am not prepared to take. This item is not about past history, personal crusades, personalities or individual grievences – its about delivering tangible real benefits now and continuing to do so whilst building upon these in the future years ahead.”
Well how about deilvering the agreement Cr Pilling.
June 3, 2012 at 5:46 PM
Keep on this issue Glen Eira. Paul Burke has had the agreement removed from the Council website headlines but it read that “Existing fencing will be replaced by Pallisade fencing as follows:
Within One year
a. the corner of Queens Avenue and Neerim Road
b. Northern section of Queens Avenue
c. Section of Station Street opposite Smith Street and adjacent to the main entrance
d. the perimeter of the new park adjacent the Glen Eira roundabout”.
This was to have been completed by 27 April 2012. Now here we are in June and the only thing that has happened is a temporary fence with a stong “Keep Out” sign placed around the new park. Does this mean it is completed? If as I suspect it has not, does this mean there is now an out for a new Council elected in October to reverse C60 decision? We do live in interesting times.
June 3, 2012 at 9:11 PM
The Glen Eira Council, in particular Andrew Newton and Paul Burke, sent a strong message to the Melbourne Racing Club not to remove the fence on the corner of Queens Avenue and Neerim Rd by placing that ridiculous pedestrian fence there. Their intention was to annoy Penhalluriack but all it has done is infuriate residents and send a message to the MRC to null the agreement. Newton and Burke should be blamed not the poor powerless Councillors Hyams, Lipshutz, Esakoff and Pilling who don’t have a clue.
June 3, 2012 at 7:32 PM
Council or the mrc could if they cared enough set up a webpage with all the bookings and street closures. Even if there’s a change this could be easily altered or edited. Part of the problem I think is that both don’t want this kind of info out there for the public to start thinking about because it will show how the mrc is getting all the benefits and the community nothing but traffic congestion pollution and loss of peace and quiet.
June 3, 2012 at 7:57 PM
Lipshutz and the rest of them will not survive the election for their betrayal of residents with both the c60 and the centre of the racecourse. I only hope like hell that Liipshutz lives right next door to the racecourse.
June 3, 2012 at 10:01 PM
Pretty simple. That woman that foolishly lodged an appeal with VCAT spoiled the whole plan. The deal was that they inside of the track would be altered which included a new car park as well as the park facilities. If the MRC are not going to get their car park then there is no deal. A deal has two sides. Once a planning permit is issued then the MRC should start on the fencing. The main game is for the MRC to get their car park so they do not need the outside car park.
June 5, 2012 at 9:01 AM
Dont need a planning permit to replace the fence. The agreement was signed provided C60 was passed, which has occurred. That was the two sides of the deal. Seems to me the MRC just keep asking for more and more and never deliver…and Pilling, Hyams, Esakoff and Lipshutz aided by Newton and Burke just let them.
June 6, 2012 at 9:24 PM
I do admit that the MRC never intended to honor the agreement with Glen Eira Council…it was all a means to get C60 passed. Paul Burke is a regular in the Members on race day courtesy of the MRC and (MOERATORS: rest of sentence deleted)
June 7, 2012 at 7:27 AM
the circus dates are up 22 June to 15 July. total disregard for residents