BY REBECCA THISTLETON

Residents fear village will cut public space

CAULFIELD residents fear a $1 billion development at Caulfield Racecourse will reduce open space. Community group, Supporters of Caulfield Reserve, claim the public has been ‘‘locked out’’ of the decision to build the Caulfield Village.

Planning Minister Matthew Guy signed off on the project last week. Melbourne Racing Club will build the village on a five-hectare site currently used as a car park off Normanby Road, near Caulfield station. The development will include a 20-storey building with office space, 70 homes along Heywood Street and up to 200 retirement dwellings. A planned public park on the racecourse will include a children’s play area, shade areas and toilets, as well as a boardwalk around the lake with fishing areas.

The project will take seven to 10 years to complete and Mr Guy said it will generate 4800 jobs during construction and 1100 jobs when completed.

Supporters of Caulfield Reserve spokeswoman Roslyn Gold said she kept a close watch on the proposal because public space was under threat. Ms Gold said plans presented to the public seemed to be a ‘‘done deal’’ between the club and council.

Caulfield MLA David Southwick said he knew open space was a concern to residents but that the proposed development would make better use of land and park space.

Melbourne Racing Club development and strategic planning manager Brian Discombe rejected Ms Gold’s concerns. ‘‘The process to date has been vigorous, open and transparent and the club is committed to keeping the community informed,’’ he said.

Glen Eira Council community relations director Paul Burke said councillors made decisions in open meetings of council or the Caulfield Racecourse Precinct Special Committee. ‘‘Any substantive decision that the council may make as a result of any meeting is only taken in the council chamber,’’ he said.

Highlights from both the Legislative Assembly & Legislative Council

Planning: Caulfield Racecourse

Mr
SOUTHWICK (Caulfield)
— This morning I had the pleasure of joining the Minister for Planning, the Honourable Matthew Guy, in my electorate to announce the approval of a planning scheme amendment that will allow for a $1 billion development near the Caulfield Racecourse. As part of this development Caulfield residents will see an improvement in the quality of open space facilities for the community. I am pleased this agreement that I helped facilitate between the Glen Eira City Council and the Melbourne Racing Club has led to such a wonderful result. Facilities for the community to enjoy will include a picnic area by the lake, a large off-leash dog area, walking and jogging paths and a junior soccer pitch. I look forward to continuing to engage with the community on ways to utilise this fantastic facility.

Planning: Caulfield Village

Mrs COOTE (Southern Metropolitan) — My question is to the Minister for Planning, Matthew Guy. Can the minister inform the house what action he has taken to assist the planned development around Caulfield Racecourse and around community involvement in this planned development?

Hon. M. J. GUY (Minister for Planning) — I thank Mrs Coote for her outstanding question and for her outstanding work in facilitating what is a terrific outcome for the community in Caulfield. The work done by Mrs Coote, Ms Crozier and the member for Caulfield in the Assembly, David Southwick, has been outstanding. The work they have put in as local MPs is unique.

Mr Lenders — What about Mr Davis?

Hon. M. J. GUY — Mr Lenders, I could also talk about Mr Davis and the work he has done. In the health portfolio he has been cleaning up 11 years of mess left by you. Mr Davis, as the Leader of the Government in this chamber, is trying to clean up $2 million a day worth of financial mismanagement from the desal contracts, which you signed with your mate Tim Holding.

That aside, it was terrific to be part of the Glen Eira planning scheme amendment C60, which will facilitate Melbourne is to have urban renewal, this is the place to have it — around a railway, an activities area and existing facilities where new child care and sporting facilities and open space can be built into this outstanding development.It should also be remembered that in the previous Parliament the public land committee, which was chaired by Mr Davis, also met to hear issues in relation to Caulfield and public space, and I can report to this chamber with pleasure that the C60 amendment will, for the first time, pick up the recommendations of the committee’s report. The C60 amendment will pick up those recommendations thanks to the work done by Ms Crozier, Mrs Coote and Mr Southwick to ensure that the central part of the racecourse will be used as public open space, which is a far cry from what we saw under the previous dark decade of former planning minister Justin Madden and former Premier John Brumby.

Mr Finn interjected.

Hon. M. J. GUY — Mr Finn, as he knows about open space issues, would also be interested in the fact that the C60 amendment — and the figure 60 is just two digits away from the Prime Minister’s disapproval rating of 62 — which former Labor member Evan Thornley was in favour of, puts in place, as Mr Davis said, the results of a lot of work by the racing club and by the council, which should be congratulated for the work it has done. The council presented a planning scheme amendment to the state government, and there has been a truly collaborative approach between the government and the council. A ‘collaborative approach’; don’t you love that word? Labor Party members love it. It gets their little left-wing juices running. There has been a cooperative approach between the state government; the local government; our local members of Parliament, who have worked so hard on this; the public land inquiry, which reported on the necessity for open space; and the racing club, which has put forward a proposal and had it accepted and presented to the state government with the support of Glen Eira City Council. Congratulations to all involved.

AND TODAY’S ‘AGE’

Caulfield development off and  racing

Matthew Guy has this afternoon announced the formal rubberstamping of the C60 Amendment. Interviewed by Steve Vizard these were some of this comments –

The C60 is a “billion dollar development, planned for 5 years, right next door to a railway station….one tower (only) which will …only shadow the racecourse itself…large development in an area where it should be….

Guy also spoke about the centre of the racecourse claiming that this decision will “ensure that open space and centre of racecourse can be used, (the) centre will now be opened up,… we are now going to open up centre of land for parkland and open space which can only be good for the people of Caulfield…..”

As to the land swap with the MRC, Guy stated that the MRC were “taking a large amount of risk” in their investment. That they would “be opening up the centre of that track….a very important win for the community….we are addng a very large area in the centre of the track….a good outcome for the community”.

Also interviewed was Mr. Don Dunstan, President of the Glen Eira Residents’ Association. Mr Dunstan highlighted:

• the granting of Crown Land for private interests
• the undemocratic processes involved where only 4 individuals decided the fate of the C60
• the implications for other areas and for the people of Victoria

Several of our readers have alerted us to the fact that the Caulfield Racecourse will now be the venue for just on a month long stretch of Silvers Circus performances. Looking at their website many of the dates include both matinees and evening shows. The seating for each show, according to booking diagrams, holds close to 800 people. It further looks like this will take place on the Guinea’s Car Park which is Crown Land.

Important questions arise out of this little arrangement – some of which have already been pointed out by our readers –

• Did council and/or councillors know about this?
• Did the Planning Department issue a permit for the advertising signs?
• What consideration was given to the potential impact of noise, and events of this magnitude finishing at 10pm on local amenities?
• What has happened to the so called ‘agreement’ that only 10 days of special events were to take place?
• When does this ‘agreement’ actually come into operation? Or will Council and the MRC argue that it has not as yet ‘started’?

Sunday’s Herald Sun featured a two page spread on the C60 development. Below are edited highlights from the story. Author –  Graeme Hammond.

“For Mr Curry and his partner, it (housing developments) will mean vacant land behind their house – cleared of homes more than 10 years ago after they were bought by the racing club – will be occupied by 270 new properties, including six-storey residential blocks. There are still no drawings of how the neighbourhood skyline will change, but he can guess.

“This development will put 2500 people at my back door,” Mr Currey said. “it’s an incredibly intense concentration of retail, commercial and residential building and I’ll look out the back and see every one of them.”

He said the centre would dramatically increase traffic congestion in Kambrook Rd and the surrounding streets.

“The beauty of this area is that within 15 minutes’ drive we have Chadstone Shopping Centre, St Kilda, Glen Huntly Rd and Glenferrie Rd,” Mr Curry said. “The area is already well catered for by retail. We don’t need this. It is physically and visually wrong here. I’m not against development, but it has to be reasonable and practical. With every decision our council makes, they show they do not listen to residents and don’t care. We voted them in, but they are not representing us.”

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“What’s good enough for the Meblourne Racing Club should be good enough for everyone, budding entrepreneur Noam Rosen says. Mr Rosen supports high-rise development in suburban areas and considers the Caulfield area as ideally placed to become a residential and business hub, capable of housing many more people. But he said: “If I wanted to demolish this house and build a six-storey complex I think I’d be knocked back Why did the Melbourne Racing Club get approval? There should be a level playing field so everyone has the chance to do sensible property development”.

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She (Mary Healy) said the (MRC) plans bore little resemblance to the original 1996 concept of Caulfield Village. “It just keeps growing. We’ll have another 10,000 people working and shopping here, but they’re providing only 2000 parking spotes,” she said. Mrs Healy said Camden ward residents had elected councillors opposed to the project, but Glen Eira council had ignored their views and few councillors had attended a state planning panel’s six-day set of hearings. “It’s one of the biggest planning decision ever made in the state, but they showed no interest,” she said. “They have effectively disenfranchised the voters.” 

PS: A copy of the article has been uploaded HERE