Caulfield Racecourse/C60

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September 19, 2012

MRC: Money, Money, Money – But Not For Residents!

Posted by gleneira under Caulfield Racecourse/C60, Councillor Performance, GE Service Performance
[24] Comments 

At last Council Meeting the MRC was sold just under 100 square metres of land for a song – as we stated in a previous post. Poor MRC! Our wonderful councillor gang took pity on this organisation and instead of getting some real returns for the community sold it at bargain basement prices of $140,000.

PS: We need to correct the above paragraph. The land has not been ‘sold’ as yet. There has to be the official advertisement and the call for submissions under the Local Govt Act requirements. We remind residents that they therefore have the opportunity to lodge an objection to the sale.

PPS: We’ve checked this week’s Caulfield and Moorabbin Leader as well as the ‘Public Notices’ section on council’s website and THERE IS NO ADVERTISEMENT APPEARING ANYWHERE CALLING FOR SUBMISSIONS ON THE SALE. Given that administrators have had a week to place the advertisement or put it up on their website, is this another instance of keeping the public ignorant, and therefore silent? Cloak and daggers, but deliberately orchestrated? Make up your own minds – plain ineptitude/incompetence or more sinister dirty tricks?

It’s therefore with great irony we read the following two notices. One is from yesterday’s Herald Sun, and the other is today’s Media Release from the Minister for Racing.

The Herald Sun article was about free entry to race meetings. Speaking about the MRC, Dale Monteith said” The MRC has something like 800 poker machines yielding about $50,000 per machine to fund its business model, we have $108…..The bottom line is no club other than the MRC can make proposals like this because we simply don’t have that revenue stream.”  Yes, Lipshutz & co took real pity on this cash-strapped organisation and sold out for a measly $140,000!

Next there’s this official Media Release:

New Caulfield facility to help grow racehorse ownership

Wednesday, 19 September 2012

A bright and big new lounge facility is to be constructed at Caulfield Racecourse to greatly encourage racehorse ownership and help grow the racing industry.

Minister for Racing Denis Napthine said the new indoor/outdoor lounge facility, to be located in the former outdoor betting ring, will be open to racehorse owners and their guests, regardless of whether their horse is running on the day.

“There are 55,000 thoroughbred racehorse owners in Victoria. It is important to look after these investors in the industry and, most importantly, encourage new owners,” Dr Napthine said.

“The new venue will showcase the benefits of racehorse ownership and feature marquees, food and beverage stalls, racing vision and a stage for entertainment,” Dr Napthine said.

“The new owners’ lounge, a step up from the current cramped facilities, will make a major difference to the raceday experience to those who make an investment – small or large – in Victorian racing by buying and owning a racehorse.

“It is hoped that this new area will also entice owners to attend more race meetings and entice their guests to consider racehorse ownership, which helps to build on the economic benefits generated by the racing industry.”

Melbourne Racing Club Chief Executive Officer, Alasdair Robertson said the club is pleased to be partnering with the Victorian Coalition Government on this important project.

“Racehorse owners are so vital to the racing industry and its ongoing prosperity, so we are thrilled to be able to boost our level of service to owners through the development of a new facility at Caulfield,” Mr Robertson said.

Thoroughbred Racehorse Owners’ Association (TROA) Chairman Jonathan Munz welcomed the recognition of the role of racehorse owners across Victoria.

“Owners put on the show and need to be given the best possible raceday experience. We commend the Melbourne Racing Club and Coalition Government on acknowledging that and showing the initiative to introduce this new owners’ facility at Caulfield,” Mr Munz said.

As a further incentive, the club intends on expanding its hospitality package for Victorian Thoroughbred Owner Gold Card holders, by providing:

  • owners with free access to non-feature meetings and half-price entry to feature meetings;
  • half-price entry to guests to non-feature and feature meetings;
  • free barbeque, beverage package and race book for owners and trainers on the day; and
  • a selection of free finger food after the last race.Costs for this project have been shared between the Coalition Government, providing $120,000 from its Victorian Racing Industry Fund and the Melbourne Racing Club, contributing $136,285.

The MRC, in conjunction with TROA, will also contribute $100,000 per year to operate and maintain the new facility.

 

September 13, 2012

Setting The Record Straight!

Posted by gleneira under Caulfield Racecourse/C60, Councillor Performance, GE Planning, GE Service Performance
[8] Comments 

We’ve received the following comment, which we believe deserves to be featured as a separate post.

“I know the objector and the lengths she has gone to in order to try and ensure that residents get a fair deal. Unlike so many of us who are prepared to sit back and whinge, this lady has put her money where her mouth is. At the vcat hearing on the subdivision she hired a barrister which probably cost her thousands of dollars. She didn’t have to do this, and god knows, she’s not flush with funds. But she was determined to at least try and get some justice and a decent hearing. She lost of course.

Then there was the centre of the racecourse. I’ve seen her objection and to me it made plenty of sense. She did her homework, running all over Melbourne to see how other councils dealt with pathways. She took photos of these alternate tracks, costed them, and backed this up with medical journal articles that showed how jogging on hard concrete injures people. She met with the MRC, and they were supposed to get back to her and organise another meeting. Of course they didn’t but literally ploughed ahead, with the acquiescence of this council to create their yellow concrete monstrosities throughout an area that is supposed to be a recreation and park land.

It’s incredibly easy to blame one individual as Hyams, Esakoff and now Southwick have done. Just because there is only one objection, doesn’t mean that the rest of the municipality accepts what is happening. I certainly don’t. But I was too lazy, and despondent, to write up a formal objection.

Ultimately she did withdraw her objection. Not because she thought she was wrong, or because the fire had left the belly. I suspect it was simply that the threat of paying out the mrc’s legal costs, which I’ve no doubt they would have tried, was a risk too great to take. Idealism and a social conscience can come at a great cost when you’re fighting unscrupulous councils and a mega industry who don’t care one little bit about who they want to crush and how much it will cost. For council, they simply put their hands into our pockets. For the mrc, well they got Napthine and the whole damn government supporting them.

Southwick’s, Hyams and Esakoff’s attacks are totally without foundation and tell us more about them and their dirty tactics, than they do about the objector. She should be awarded the Citizen of The Year!”

 

September 13, 2012

The Danby Letter

Posted by gleneira under Caulfield Racecourse/C60, Councillor Performance, GE Governance, GE Service Performance
[9] Comments 

Dear Mr Xxxxxxx,

Many Caulfield Residents have written to me to express their disappointment at the Caulfield Village Development given approval by the Glen Eira City Council. Last month the Melbourne Racing Club awared the lucrative Caulfield Village development contract to the Beck Probuild Consortium.

The Caulfield Racecourse Reserve should benefit all local residents through the provision of a racecourse, public, recreation ground and public park. My office has been in contact with you recently to express my personal disappointment at the size of the development which will take more than 15 years to build, create an additional 1,500 dwellings, including a 15 story (sic) complex, over 5 hectares of land. This will affect all residents in our local area, decrease our local amenity, increase traffic congestion and more parking pressures, overcrowd the area and disrupt the local area with increased commercial activity. The actions of the Council and the State Government in approving this oversized project will cause nothing but future problems for local residents.

This development was strongly opposed before the 3010 State Election by the newly-elected Member for Caulfield David Southwick and the (then Shadow) Planning Minister Matthew Guy. Mr Southwick called it a ‘monstrosity’ and vowed to stop it. Contrary to their stance, then both have since reversed their opinions following election and now support this over intensive development.

VCAT has unfortunately approved the MRC State government grandiose plans for this massive development on land at Station Street and Normandy Road that is now grassed car parks. However, Councillor Jim Magee is the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve’s new board Chairman. He is seeking to change the trust’s oversight making it more independent. He has asked Ted Ballieu to take action by implementing a governance review. I add my support for increased transparency and scrutiny of the actions of the board to ensure the Trust’s purposes are met and amenity of the local area is maintained for all Caulfield residents.

Not all Councillors are supportive of this massive development. On 27th October, you will have the opportunity to cast your vote in the Glen Eira City elections. I encourage you to consider current Councillors standing for re-election and their stance with regards to this monstrous development. The candidates standing in your ward against this development include Frank Penhalluriack and Mary Delahunty and their respective teams.

If you, like many of your fellow residents, share my anger at this development, I encourage you to contact the Glen Eira City Council to register your disapproval for this development on (03) 9524 3333 and email mail@gleneira.vic.gov.au to express your concerns at the size of this development in our local area.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Danby MP

Federal Member for Melbourne Ports

 

September 13, 2012

Racecourse: Southwick

Posted by gleneira under Caulfield Racecourse/C60
[21] Comments 

We present below part of yesterday’s performance in Parliament by David Southwick. Obviously a follower of don’t let the facts get in the way of spin and political expediency!

“I want to relate to members a relevant example from my electorate. I refer to a park in the middle of Caulfield Racecourse. It is an area of open space I have been working on and which we are returning back to the community. It is Crown land, and we are creating five different precincts, including a sporting precinct, a jogging track and fishing areas, and enabling a whole range of different activities for the community. This park should be open now, and people should be using it. It was held up for 12 months. Why was it held up for 12 months? Because we had one lady—one person in the whole electorate —who took an issue about the park to VCAT. This individual did not like the surface that has been put forward for the jogging track. She wanted a hard surface, not a soft surface, believing a harder surface would be better for joggers. Needless to say, everyone has a right and a view, but when you look at this project you can see that it has taken up to 12 months to get going and you can think of all the individuals, families and other people in my electorate who have been unable to use that park because of one individual who took the matter to VCAT. She waited 12 months, and when the matter finally got to VCAT, guess what happened? She pulled out. She decided she was not going to go through with it. She had had second thoughts: ‘Maybe a soft track might be better after all’.

This is the sort of thing we need to fix up. We need to ensure that we have better, smoother and more consistent planning and that people understand where they stand right from the very beginning. The worst thing any government can deliver is uncertainty. The worst thing any government can deliver is a process in which one decision does not match a related decision simply because of whatever is decided on the day— because of the ‘It’ll be all right on the day’ attitude.”

Further on in his speech Southwick states – “I tell you what: the Labor opposition is very good at never letting the truth get in the way of a very good story”. What a pity that Southwick doesn’t practise what he preaches!

 

September 4, 2012

Welcome To Leggo Land!

Posted by gleneira under Caulfield Racecourse/C60, GE Service Performance
[7] Comments 

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September 4, 2012

Selling For A Song!

Posted by gleneira under Caulfield Racecourse/C60, GE Planning, GE Service Performance
[7] Comments 

Council is about to sell just under 100 square metres of its land to the MRC for the paltry figure of $140,000. Stuck in the middle of the current car park it is admittedly useless to Council but extremely important to the MRC. This is where the 4 storey buildings are to go.

This leads us on to several important questions:

  • Has council ever received ‘rent’ from the MRC for this land?
  • Why wasn’t this discovered when the C60 was being planned?
  • This is the second time that odd little pieces of land are changing hands. What does this say about the planning department’s fingers on the pulse and their vigilance?
  • Why is Council prepared to sell this 100 sq metres for a song? Most real estate experts value the price of land in this area as between $2,000 – $2,500 per square metre if not more. That would make it at least double what council is prepared to sell for. Why and how has this bargain basement figure been determined?

 

 

August 18, 2012

C60

Posted by gleneira under Caulfield Racecourse/C60, Councillor Performance, GE Governance, GE Planning
[41] Comments 

Caulfield plan gets the nod

Date: August 18,  2012

Philip Hopkins

A $1 BILLION-PLUS development at Caulfield Racecourse that will create a village where hundreds of people will live and work has been given the go ahead.

The Melbourne Racing Club yesterday awarded the contract for the project to the Beck Probuild Consortium. It will be built on five hectares of land next to the racecourse, Caulfield train station and Monash University.

The development is expected to take up to 15 years to complete and will include more than 1500 dwellings of different types, and office and retail space, including a supermarket, pharmacy, cafes, restaurants, and other health and recreational outlets.

During construction, the development is expected to generate up to 5000 jobs and an ongoing 1100 jobs once completed. Construction is tipped to start within 24 months.

The Melbourne Racing Club will also upgrade the racecourse to complement the  project. The winning consortium is a joint venture between Beck Property Group  and Probuild Constructions.

A new street, The Boulevard, will be the heart of the project, which will  comprise three primary precincts:

■Precinct 1, to the west of the development, will be a low/medium-density  residential area.

■Precinct 2 will be a mixed-use precinct with active street frontages,  tree-lined laneways with retail outlets, including a supermarket, specialty  shops, and a restaurant hub established around the new Boulevard road link.

■Precinct 3 will encompass the Smith Street precinct based in the eastern  section of the site next to Caulfield Station comprising a mix of commercial,  residential and retirement accommodation.

Planning approval came after consultation with the City of Glen Eira, the  local community, state planning authorities, local state MP David Southwick and  other stakeholders.

Melbourne Racing Club’s upgrade of the racecourse infield will include five  activated precincts, exercise pods, a jogging trail, a lake pathway, lake  boardwalk, barbecue, toilets, a picnic area, a dog off-leash area, and a junior  football pitch.

Parking for the new project will be fully contained within the development,  with race-day parking staying in the existing racecourse car parks.

A communication plan will be produced to outline the timing and detail of the  development as master plans are finalised.

MRC chairman Mike Symons said the development would  bring a new vitality to  the area.

Consortium director Sam Beck said the project would deliver a world class new  suburb for Melbourne.

Probuild managing director Phil Mehrten said it was a great outcome for  Melbourne’s construction industry.

”This will mean jobs and investment, and is a vote of confidence in the  future of Melbourne’s development industry,” he said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/caulfield-plan-gets-the-nod-20120817-24e03.html#ixzz23qrFe1Ed

 

August 16, 2012

Hansard & Caulfield Racecourse

Posted by gleneira under Caulfield Racecourse/C60, Councillor Performance, GE Governance
[13] Comments 

From yesterday’s Hansard – Legislative Council. What a pity though that residents have to learn what is going on from parliamentarians rather than from their own local representatives!

Caulfield Racecourse Reserve: trustees

Ms PENNICUIK

(Southern Metropolitan)—My adjournment matter tonight is for the attention of the Premier. It is in regard to the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve, which the Minister for Health, who is in the chamber, would recall was the subject of the Select Committee on Public Land Development in 2008.

I direct this to the Premier because it concerns a letter that I know has been written to the Premier by Cr Jim Magee from the City of Glen Eira, who was recently elected chairman of trustees. He said:

The trustees are appointed by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the minister for Crown lands, the Hon. Ryan Smith. The trust is comprised of six nominees of the Melbourne Racing Club (MRC), three councillors of the City of Glen Eira and six nominees of the minister.

Those arrangements appear to date back more than a hundred years.

During the inquiry the committee found that:

…The day-to-day management of the Crown land is in the control of the Melbourne Racing Club under delegation from the trustees.

…Evidence indicates the trustees’ practice has been to meet once a year… Their meetings are not open to the public, minutes of meetings are not made public nor is there any public release of financial statements.

MrMagee as chair was concerned about these issues. He wrote:

The Department of Sustainability and Environment publishes ‘Committee of Management Responsibilities and Good Practice Guidelines’… The trustees received a copy of the guidelines and advice from the Office of the Victorian Government Solicitor… on 24 February… that in his opinion:

It is clear that members of the general public could reasonably form the view that the nominated trustees may experience a conflict between their private obligations to the club and their duties as trustees, which could influence their decision making in relation to reserve tenure issues.

The majority of trustees have decided not to accept the advice or guidelines.

The Caulfield Racecourse Reserve is Crown land with a commercial value of approximately $2 billion. The land is used for a range of purposes, including racing-related, recreational and commercial purposes; however, as was discovered in the public land inquiry, the land is not used much for the purpose of being a public park, which was a clear purpose of the original trust deed. It is also not clear whether the trustees are governed by the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978 or not.

My request to the Premier is that he investigate the governance arrangements of the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve with a view to ensuring that the Crown land is subject to appropriate governance arrangements and that the process for establishing leases over this land meets all government requirements. As I said, it is not clear if and how the trustees are governed by the Crown land act and whether the 100-year-plus arrangement in place is consistent with modern ideas of good governance and the avoidance of conflict of interest.

 

August 5, 2012

Council & The MRC: What Price Safety?

Posted by gleneira under Caulfield Racecourse/C60, GE Service Performance
[32] Comments 

Council would like residents to believe that ‘safety’ is top of the priority list when it comes to all manner of things. The photos below of Queen’s Avenue reveal a different story:

  • the failure of council and the MRC to provide a safe environment via regular pruning of branches
  • bike riders who have to veer into the path of cars in order to avoid these branches.
  • joggers who would have to veer onto the road because of failure to regularly prune back trees and shrubbery
  •  It’s  quite bizarre that there’s an entry to the Racecourse precinct from Queens Av but you can’t get there safely on foot.

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July 24, 2012

MRC: Back To The Future!

Posted by gleneira under Caulfield Racecourse/C60, Councillor Performance, GE Planning
[19] Comments 

Radical Plan for Racecourse

Andrea Kellett

Caulfield Racecourse Reserve is set for a dramatic shakeup. The new chairman of the reserve’s board of trustees, Glen Eira councillor Jim Magee, has vowed to end racing’s stranglehold on the land and return it to the people. He also wants to make the board “more accountable” and end the days of “secrecy” surrounding management of the crown land.

“The racecourse belongs to you and me not the MRC”, he said last week. He is also looking to increase the Melbourne Racing Club’s annual rent on the reserve land from $77,000 to a “more realistic” $1 million and phasing out training at the racecourse.

“I will put together a licensing agreement for what the centre of the racecourse can be used for and as part of that I want to see more public access and the moving of training from the racecourse” he said.

He has sought legal advice about changing the way the board of trustees operates, including making meetings open to the public.

Cr Magee intends to hold a board meeting next month where he will call for a vote on many of the changes.

Melbourne Racing Club spokesman Jake Norton said the club did not wish to comment.

PS: LEST WE FORGET!!!!!!

From the minutes of 15th March 2011

Crs Penhalluriack/Forge

That Council invites authorized representatives of the Melbourne Racing Club to meet with Councillors to discuss future arrangements, including timetables, for the sharing of the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Crown Land. The Mayor shall open the meeting and introduce Councillors Forge and Magee who shall explain, using overheads, Council’s position. The meeting shall then be open for all Councillors and MRC representatives to contribute. The meeting shall be minuted.

DIVISION

Cr Penhalluriack called for a Division on the voting of the Motion.

FOR                                                    AGAINST

Cr Penhalluriack                                Cr Pilling

Cr Forge                                             Cr Tang

Cr Magee                                            Cr Esakoff

Cr Lobo                                              Cr Lipshutz

                                                              Cr Hyams

On the basis of the Division the Chairperson declared the Motion LOST.

 

Crs Lipshutz/Hyams

That Council authorize Andrew Newton, Chief Executive Officer, Cr Margaret Esakoff, Mayor, Cr Michael Lipshutz, Chair of the Caulfield Racecourse Precinct Special Committee and Cr Jim Magee, member of the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust, to meet with representatives of the Melbourne Racing Club to put Council’s position in relation to the improvements to the centre of the Racecourse, after which they will report back to Councillors promptly and in detail. Any decisions would be made by Council resolution. 

The SUBSTANTIVE MOTION was put and CARRIED.

 

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