MRC statement regarding Glen Eira City Council position paper on Caulfield Racecourse Reserve
- Posted on 20 March 2013
Last night the Glen Eira City Council adopted a Position Paper with respect to the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve.
This Council paper stated that the Crown Land is reserved by Law for three purposes being a racecourse, public recreation ground and public park and that the first purpose of a racecourse is well catered for and the others are not. The MRC does not agree.
Council further stated that for this to be achieved a number of actions need to occur.
The Melbourne Racing Club is surprised and disappointed by this paper as it has been working with Council in a respectful and engaging manner of its own initiative to improve the community amenity and access at Caulfield.
The Melbourne Racing Club has entered into an agreement with Council to proactively address a wide range of items that would make the centre of Caulfield racecourse an exciting and vibrant part of the community while simultaneously respecting the dual use envisaged under the Crown Grant of “Racing Recreation” and “Public Park”.
On the 27th of April 2011, Council adopted item 9.12 being:
“That the Council adopts the attached Agreement between the Glen Eira City Council and the Melbourne Racing Club in relation to the Centre of the Caulfield racecourse Reserve and related matters.”
As part of this Agreement Council noted that the Agreement requires the MRC to “create, fund and maintain 5 activity Precincts”
Based on this Agreement the MRC have spent circa $2million to develop enhanced access, and a wide range of public works scheduled to be opened in a joint activity and fun Run for the Community on the 21st of April 2013.
Council by adopting this Position paper have specifically contradicted many of the items formally agreed between the MRC and Council.
The Paper states that Glen Eira has the lowest amount of open space per capita of all Melbourne municipalities and that the Crown land should provide sporting facilities for both horse racing and community recreation. The Council further comment that there needs to be a rebalance of areas of land.
In the Agreement between the MRC and GECC the Club has completed the 5 activity Precincts agreed to and that it also commits to:
- Precincts 1 & 2 being available to the Public on 352 days of the year and only unavailable on 3 race days and a further 10 event days in consideration of public safety, and;
- That the whole of the centre including Precincts 3, 4 & 5 every other day.
In what we believe to be a world first for a metropolitan race track, public access to the Centre is available on all race days bar 3 as above within Precincts 1 & 2 along with facilities that include toilets, change room, electric BBQs, children’s’ soft fall play area and landscaped lake and boardwalk area.
Through a land swap Agreement with DSE, the Club and DSE also offered approximately 6,300 square metres of park land adjacent to Booran Road however this was refused by Council and is now held by the Crown.
Council in the Paper proposed that Training be phased out at Caulfield.
This matter has been addressed in both a joint communiqué of 24 August 2009 and in the Agreement between the Club and Council adopted 27 April 2011.
The joint position of both the Club and Council is:
“That the prospect for horse training at Caulfield is that it will continue for the medium term and thereafter with full consultation with the whole of the racing industry and the Caulfield trainers”
In the latest Agreement it is specifically stated that:
“The parties acknowledge and agree that one of the current uses of the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve is for the training of more than 500 horses.
“For training to be moved away from Caulfield there would need to be:
- Racing industry support for any relocation;
- A suitable alternative site;
- Construction of new suitable training facilities at the alternative site, and;
- A transfer of training operations.
“The relocation of training of horses away from the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve will not be achieved in the short term and is not within the sole control of the Club.”
The MRC’s position on the commitment to training and the future of training is unchanged from this Agreement.
Council also proposed that public recreation should take precedence over car parking.
The centre of the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve is for racing recreation and Public Park and parking has and will be a part of this position as agreed with Council.
The MRC has also constructed dedicated parking for public to utilise in the centre of the racecourse in conjunction with Council to enable safe parking for the public adjacent to the new facilities constructed around the lake, children’s’ play area and BBQs.
In the Agreement with Council the MRC agreed to fund the improvement of agreed sections of the perimeter to enhance community visibility including the main entrance and other areas over an agreed 5 year period.
This would include consultation on design and issues of horse and rider safety.
Council further committed to share all funding on areas that adjoin Council and MRC land.
Council also stated that there must be provision of access from multiple points and access for all abilities be provided.
At significant expense the Club has fully reconfigured all horse movement at Caulfield to enable enhanced access and from 21 April 2013 access will be available the Booran road vehicle tunnel, a secure pedestrian pathway within the tunnel, the Guineas tunnel, Grandstand tunnel, Queens Road and via a new at grade area from the Glen Eira Oval.
Other items proposed by Council relate to a broader governance issue within the existing Crown Grant.
Under the ongoing Crown Grant governance is afforded to the appointed Trustees of the Reserve.
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COMMENT: We don’t find the above surprising. Thumbing their nose at locals is par for the course. We love the bit about making the centre of the racecourse an “exciting and vibrant part of the community”. Below are some of the photos we received from a resident which clearly belies this claim. One would also have to question how diligently this council has ‘supervised’ the works and how miles and miles of fencing can grow like mushrooms in areas that were not designated in the permit.
Glen Eira Debates 
March 21, 2013 at 11:56 AM
Off topic, but readers should find the following suggestion from Southwick quite disturbing – especially those who have been waiting for years to see the Booran Rd Reservoir converted into open space. This comes from Hansard, 19th March –
Rail: North Road, Ormond, grade separation
Mr SOUTHWICK
(Caulfield)
—
The matter I raise tonight is for the Minister for Roads and it is
regarding the impact of the proposed North Road grade
separation on local sporting activities and sporting
clubs in my electorate
.
The action I seek is for the minister to investigate with VicRoads ways in which this impact can be reduced
.
Ormond Amateur Football Club is a major sporting community in my electorate with over 20 teams, 700 players and 3000 family members
.
Formed in 1931, it played in its first match in 1932 and for more than 80
years it has been a fantastic local club . It plays and trains at the EE
Gunn Reserve in my electorate, which is just down the road from the Ormond railway station
.
I am informed by the club that there is a proposal from VicRoads to use part of the field at the reserve as a storage and staging area for works on the North Road grade separation
.
This could potentially see an interruption to the club ’s football season, particularly as the city of Glen Eira already has a shortage of
sporting facilities
.
This c ould certainly impact the football club’s season as well as the cricket season for the Ormond Cricket Club
.
I ask VicRoads to work with Glen Eira City Council to seek other sites that would not have an impact on my local sporting clubs
.
One such option might be the Booran Road Reservoir site, which has been closed since the 1970s
.
Community feedback on the grade separation has been positive, with a number of residents in my electorate attending the community consultation
and information sessions that have been held in recent months
.
I thank the minister and his department for holding these information sessions so that residents could be informed about the project and have the
opportunity to contribute ideas regarding the options presented to them
.
I attended one of these sessions earlier this year and learnt a lot while meeting with residents
.
Some residents and small businesses raised concern about some of the options
.
Given that statistics show there is a huge issue at the railway crossing at Ormond station, the grade separation will be a fantastic win for the community; however, we need to ensure that local community clubs
are not disadvantaged by it
.
Therefore I ask the minister to meet with VicRoads to look at ways to ensure that the seasons of local sporting clubs are not disrupted by
this work
.
I take this opportunity to once again praise the team at the Ormond Amateur Football Club, seniors president Ray Wood, and juniors president Kerri Rolfe for bringing this to my attention and to wish them luck for
the upcoming season
March 21, 2013 at 4:53 PM
Southwick has proposed a good idea. It is a temporary measure. Why toss the Ormond football and cricket club off their ground for two years when there is a viable alternative. 3000 families is aconsiderable amount. I doubt that any councillors would deny these people their sports facilities. In fact it would be a 9 – 0 vote for that one. The residents of Caulfield have waited for years to get more open space a few more years will not matter.
March 22, 2013 at 2:48 PM
Yes, Southwick is getting plenty of press and fighting for 3,000 families is better than a small and amorphous, disorganised group of residents wanting a park. MRC has a much bigger pool of voters than even the sports groups. So they can play the politics with Libs or Labs. No wonder, Martin Pakula knows that and he is just playing to the strength, supporting MRC. The libs at State or Council will note that and may even support Pakula, while criticising him (ha, ha, ha). Will see in due course.
March 21, 2013 at 1:07 PM
GE please publish the letter from Andrew Newton to AJAX in the council minutes. It advises of them to get involved in supporting moves to get sports grounds on the Caulfield Racecourse reserve. This is what we need unite as one community to get the sports grounds we deserve. MRC are making us feel sad that some millionaire horse will need to find a home in the country!
March 21, 2013 at 1:20 PM
Typically the MRC had the Glen Eira Road gates, the tunnel entrance, double gates padlocked firmly at 2.30pm on 20/3/203 and the pedestrian gate locked electronically. Council needs a full time inspector to ensure entry to all when promised.
March 21, 2013 at 3:05 PM
does anyone know why racing sold Epsom? was it because they could train on crown land for basically nothing?
see http://localhistory.kingston.vic.gov.au/htm/article/60.htm
The closure of the Epsom Training Track is the final chapter in the long and rewarding history the racing industry had maintained within Melbourne’s southern bayside communities. The 104 acres of land that the course was situated on is to be redeveloped. The VRC made the decision to close the complex as they considered the cost of training there was more expensive than at other venues in Victoria. The trainers at Epsom, of whom there were over 40 in 1997, argued that Epsom was the best training facility in Victoria and that to relocate trainers and their families would jeopardise, not only the livelihood of the trainers, but also subsidiary industries associated with racing.
March 25, 2013 at 9:39 PM
Wouldn’t you sell your freehold land if you could have the use of other land such as Caulfield (worth about $2billion) if you were to obtain it with a favourable rating scheme, cheap rental and of coursse no land tax worries. Which would any normal person go for?????