Melbourne Racing Club claims $195m Mount Scopus deal imperiled by council levy
September 29, 2025 — 6.58pm
Melbourne Racing Club has vowed to press on with a debt-clearing deal to sell a $195 million slice of Caulfield Racecourse to a private school despite telling a tribunal that a council levy had put the plan at risk.
The MRC has taken Glen Eira City Council to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal challenging conditions on a subdivision permit required to sell land along Kambrook Road to Mount Scopus Memorial College.
It has asked the tribunal to scrap the estimated $3 million public open space contribution normally imposed on subdivisions, arguing it went against the levy’s purpose of promoting greenery alongside residential, industrial or commercial development.
“This is an extraordinary impost for a proposal that is no more than an internal boundary realignment,” the MRC said in its submission, obtained by The Age.
The racing club then suggested the entire Mount Scopus plan could be in jeopardy if the tribunal didn’t amend the approved planning permit.
“The alternative is to retain condition 11 in its current form and thereby to impose a substantial unwarranted burden on MRC that could imperil the proposal the condition is otherwise intended to allow.”
But when contacted by The Age on Monday, an MRC spokesman backed away from the club’s lawyers’ submission that the open space levy imperiled the land deal and was adamant the transaction would proceed.
“What we can confirm is that the Mount Scopus project is progressing and remains firmly on track. This is a routine VCAT process regarding conditions on an already approved permit, and any finding from VCAT will in no way impact the project. Both the MRC and Mount Scopus remain committed to completing the transaction.”
The MRC announced a 7.5-hectare land sale last December, but it is still not finalised as the school has two years to settle.
The deal would give Mount Scopus, a private Jewish school, a land tract which runs the length of the western area of Caulfield Racecourse – from Station Street along Kambrook and Booran roads to Glen Eira College – and allow it to consolidate three campuses into one in Melbourne’s Jewish heartland.
A subdivision was required before the sale as an existing northern parcel within the larger proposed development site included administration buildings and track access that the MRC needs to keep.
The larger slice of the subdivided block, which is mainly now a car park, is slated for Mount Scopus in a future completed sale.
The deal is crucial for the racing club and chairman John Kanga, who dramatically took control of the $1 billion MRC last year and soon announced the sale of old training facilities to Mount Scopus to help clear the club’s debt.
The MRC’s annual report released last week showed debt had increased to $178 million.
In its submissions to VCAT, the MRC conceded its request to not pay the open space levy was “novel and unusual” but argued the circumstances – in which part of the land “might one day be used for a school” – were unique as well.
The entity leading the Mount Scopus development, Project Generation Ltd, also joined the VCAT case to oppose a condition requiring the new owner of the subdivided parcel on Kambrook Road to enter into a covenant with the Heritage Council that blocked any new buildings.
PGL argued it could have a devastating impact on Mount Scopus’ transformative project and was unnecessary.
“This potentially renders the site too small for PGL’s purposes and threatens the commercial feasibility of the project,” the submission said.
But on Monday, Scopus Foundation president David Gold said Heritage Victoria had withdrawn its covenant condition.
Mount Scopus hopes to enrol the first students at its new campus in 2030.
“We’d been told it was no longer an issue,” he said.
A spokesman for Heritage Victoria said a heritage permit would still be required for any development proposal.
Acclaimed New York-based architect Daniel Libeskind has been brought in to design the new Mount Scopus campus, and more detailed development plans are expected to be finalised in November.
A spokeswoman for Glen Eira City Council declined to comment on the ongoing dispute with the MRC over the open space levy.
The VCAT decision on that matter is expected in the coming weeks after a hearing was held on September 8 and 9.
COMMENTS
It’s a bit rich for the MRC to complain about a potential $3M open space levy when over the years they have been granted extraordinary largesse from both government and Glen Eira council. Here are some facts that have garnered the MRC millions thanks to council and government:
- land swap that facilitated the development of the Caulfield Village
- The development plan accepted by council that imposed a rare gift – open space levies of only 4 and 5 percent.
- The latest development plan included a ‘built to rent’ for over 400 new apartments. No open space levy paid on that!
- Decades of subsidised council rate payments on the land
- Increasing encroachment of crown land by the MRC – ie second race track, more events hence less public access, etc.
- There is heaps more that could be added to the above!
Glen Eira Debates 
October 1, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Have I missed something. Wouldn’t the developer be the body that pays the open space levy. In this case the Mt Scopus?
I bet the MRC dept is a switch-a-roo on paper dept to minimize tax in another arm of the their diverse business empire.
Mt Scopus is stumping the best part of $200 million as was reported, whats another $3 mil. For that poultry sum Mt Scopus business heads wont let this deal slip.
The fence on “Pawfield Park” the dog park has finally been shifted to get the full wedge block of real estate as per the land swap that happened so many years ago.
The maps released by Glen Eira show this area of Pawfield Park as crown land, temporarily reserved as public open space. “temporarily” is a question worth resolving.
October 2, 2025 at 10:51 AM
The owner of the land pays the open space levy. In this case it is the MRC given that Mt Scopus has not purchased the land as yet.
October 2, 2025 at 11:36 AM
on a side issue it looks like the traditional passive recreational users of the Caulfield racecourse reserve will be getting nothing. The council government and trust had these grandiose plans. However rumours that the Neerim road stables (crown land) will be the new MRC depot. Guineas car park (crown land) to be Melbourne football club facility. There will be 2 ovals in the middle for them. Will need to be kept in pristine condition so Joe public won’t be using them much. 2 dams now regarded as wild life reserves which basically leaves 2 MRC car parks in the middle for passive recreation
October 2, 2025 at 12:43 PM
has pawfield park already been sold? Lights coming down today
October 2, 2025 at 5:11 PM
The dispute at VCAT continues an inglorious tradition of MRC being dreadful neighbours and citizens. They are however encouraged by Victoria’s woeful planning system. If you have a lot of money its worth rolling the loaded dice at VCAT, where fellow members of the development industry sit in judgement. I haven’t forgotten or forgiven C60; the deliberate understating of “indicative height limits” in getting their Development Plan approved; the reneging on the social housing aspect despite that being material to how they got their approval in the first place; lousy traffic management affecting people living in the vicinity; excessive noise from amplified music at events; local street changes to support the traffic their development generates against the wishes of existing residents; gulling GECC to spend money to keep residents away from the eastern property boundary (until State Government cried bullshit); the secretive CRRT repeatedly making decisions in favour of MRC and now without community representatives (although arguably some councillor representatives didn’t represent the community in that role); the loss of the historic Aleppo pine to facilitate more gambling; the infamous land swap; the criminal behaviour of some of their members exiting the Members carpark at speed without bothering to check for pedestrians.
October 13, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Whys is the MRC $165 million in doubt when they sold all the car parks across the road for apartment developments and make $30 million a year from pokies?
How is it possible the former board spent $60 million on moving the mounting yard? A contractor could have done it for about $10 million? Were there any kickbacks to board members?
Why are the facts told to the public about the “corporate governance” issue and stop the rumours?
What arent the facts told to the public about John Kangas past?
Glen Eira residents and the public deserve better?
Luck the proposed new Grandstand at Caulfield was blocked by the new board!