Guest Speaker – Tony Collins
Guest Speaker Tony Collins presented a comprehensive report on the work of the NRA team commencing with the loss of Rob Jones to Bayside Council and his replacement with Lee James. A Green Corp Project, a training scheme for ten 17-18 year old students on work experience aims to fence the spinifex area at Bay Street. Work continues on the south bank of Mordialloc Creek with funding provided by Melbourne Water. Mordialloc College Years 9/10 students are involved in this project supervised by the NRA team. Plans include extending the riparian zone. Friends of Mordialloc Creek will assist with a planting day 5th June. Friends of Chicquita Park met with Tony Collins, David Digby and Jeff Yugovic as part of the community consultation to cost a vegetation management plan for the park. Concern at a statement made at an open council meeting that, “there should be a councillor on the committee who is opposed to the retention of the park in order to provide balance!” There is also reluctance to including the 2.4ha per 1000 people ARCUE measurement in the Open Space Review to give an accurate estimate of the lack of open space in Kingston. Met with Catherine Costello from Biosis on site to plan for the hand over of Epsom’s Herb Rich Grassy wetlands in January. 8000 plants per year are planted on the foreshore from Carrum to Mentone. A trial with geo-textile sand bags is planned to attempt to arrest erosion at Bonbeach. Still concern at the vandalism of foreshore vegetation in Kingston and Bayside. Request to write to Council asking for signs to be erected at the scene of tree vandalism. Discussed the siting of the Bay Trail Bicycle Path. This will involve a consultation process June 7th at Brindisi Street. Thank Tony for keeping us informed of the valuable work of the NRA team.
VCAT Hearing re four town houses in an Incremental Change Area in Chelsea. KRAMMED was an objector on behalf of residents. This development is 800 metres from Chelsea Station.
541 Main Street
1259 proformas collected during the campaign opposing the 5 storey development were sent to Mary Delahunty and presented to council by Nina and Brian. The architect /developer of 541 didn’t waste any time, the precedent having been set. A similar application is now before council for 334-337 Station Street, Chelsea. None of the three State Government reps. have shown any interest in preventing inappropriate development in either Mordialloc or Chelsea. The June edition of the VLGA Bulletin asks a pertinent question. “Do we want activity centres or congestion centres? Certainly traffic congestion will be increased both in Mordialloc and Chelsea shopping strips if these developments proceed with 21 apartments and four retail outlets proposed for Chelsea and 16 apartments in Mordialloc.
Pitrones Retirement Village
Pitrones Retirement Village in a Green Wedge was supported by Council’s Strategic Planner but opposed by Councillors so will now go to VCAT.
Parkdale Plaza
Mara reports that the billiard parlour in the Plaza which had caused residents severe aggravation over a ten year period with loud music and vandalism has moved, to be replaced with a liquor/bottle shop outlet. Trucks supplying the outlet are causing traffic problems in Melrose street. This issue was raised at the Mordialloc Village Committee meeting in May.
Mordialloc Skateboard Facility
Mordialloc Skateboard Facility is to be sited in Attenborough Park despite thirty objections from nearby residents and the over riding of the Draft Master Plan which designated the park as a passive recreation area.
Drill’s Land
Meeting reported that Melbourne Water doesn’t view Drill’s Land as a priority project and have not calculated the volumes and frequencies of storm water to determine their plan to pass stormwater from Bowen Road to Drill’s Land. MW has been told that Kingston Council will proceed with plans for a functioning saltmarsh/wetland. MW have already committed/budgeted $25,000 for earth works. Aspendale Primary School Years 3/4 will propagate plants and will establish photo points to record progress.
Mentone Lifesaving Building
Plans for landscaping in front of the club house have been abandoned due to objections from MLSC committee. A more natural style of landscaping is favoured by the NRA as is outlined in Foreshore Management Plans. MBCL objected to the initial proposal.
Mordialloc Creek Pollution
KCEC is also pursuing the degraded water quality issue following a letter from MW indicating that water quality monitoring of the Waterways wetlands water re-entering the creek is not being checked to establish whether the wetland. is achieving the aims it was supposedly designed for. Mordialloc Village Committee Council Officer is also checking MW’s response to MBCL’s original letter.
Open Space Review
The long awaited Open Space Review is soon to be released and available for public comment. Concern that the ARCUE assessment of 2.4ha per 1000 people may not be used to assess the need for the retention of all available small parks and open space particularly south of the creek in Area 6 with approx.700-800 units in some streets. Council plans to sell 110 Argyle street as a finance raising measure, for example, using the money to cap a tip nearby. Chicquita Park is again under serious threat with the developer fencing the park to prevent residents using the area. A VCAT Hearing is planned for June 4. Linton Street and a nearby playground is threatened with a sell-off for the well-used play ground and various facilities planned for the large open space/parkland. The future of Groves Reserve is still undecided. Suggestions that the buildings be used as an environ- ment centre have merit and should be considered. Edithvale Common club house is to be extended despite being in close proximity to the Ramsar listed wetlands. Late night social functions could cause disturbance to birdlife.
Channel Deepening
200-300 people attended a meeting at Chelsea to hear the usual spin from the POMC consultants regarding channel deepening. Speakers from the audience, with years of experience and knowledge of Port Phillip Bay, mounted convincing arguments about the damage that will be done to the Bay’s eco-system should this project go ahead.
Litter at Mentone
Penny reported on the large number of cans which surfaced at Mentone after recent storms. They may have travelled with the current from elsewhere around the Bay it is thought. The plume from the Yarra River reaches Beaumaris Bay depending on wind and
currents.