Apologies for the lack of a June MBCL meeting but unfortunately your secretary was ill. Much has happened in the interim in the conservation area. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have queries or concerns.
President MBCL ph. 9 580 2018 Secretary MBCL 9 580 2706
Reports
Bradshaw Park The Open Day held in April resulted in an excellent response with 120 people attending the combined tour and sausage sizzle. R. Pearson and S. Calvert-Smith acted as tour guides. Much interest was shown and it is hoped that may more will join the Friends group. A Probus group was also taken on a tour of the Park in May.
Braeside Park Members of the Friends group met with the Area Manager, Ian Christie, to discuss the concept of the Haines property south of the Park being incorporated into Braeside. However a letter received from Mrs Tehan indicated that funding for the purchase of the Haines property by the State Government was unlikely. The possibility of a public fund to raise the $4 million required to purchase the property from David Haines was suggested.
Karkarook Park The Official Opening of the park was postponed possibly because of tender negotiations with CSR/BORAL Concrete who will mine for sand in the area. We have since learned that the City of Kingston has allocated a section of the park off Warrigal Road for a car park!
KCEC/Wetland
The President of KCEC, Dr Hampel and Christine Ca/ma, Friends of Braeside Park, have met with Mrs Tehan, Mr Geoff Leigh, MP, Mr David Lean, MP and Victorian Trust for Nature re funding for the purchase of the Haines land for the extension of Braeside Park and linear wetlands along the north bank of the Mordialloc Main Drain. The most recent meeting with Mr Stephen Haines, indicated that the Haines Company wish to proceed with residential development on the land which is zoned rural and which comes within the boundary of the Green Wedge. The proposal is for housing with a “lake” frontage.
Theme Park Land
86 hectares on the corner of Hutton and Springvale Roads, Keysborough was offered for sale 19-5-97. The board stated that the land was suitable for a golf course, conference centre or Theme Park!!!!!!. Whatever is proposed for this site will impact on the wetland concept.
Signage on Stormwater Drains on the Foreshore
An inspection of the 18 drains which cross the beach between the Pier and Charman Road have indicated that most have signs warning people of the danger of swimming near drain outlets on the beach after heavy rain. However not all drains have signs since Council claims that some drains have a very small local catchment area. Melbourne Water have assured us that they will have a sign on their monster drain at Mentone before next summer.
Bicycle Path Extension to Mundy Street from Cromer Road City of Bayside.
It is disappointing to learn that Steve Hallett, City Engineer, City of Bayside intends to use the bike path through the Beaumaris Park instead of continuing along the verge of Beach Road as has been done in the rest of the City of Bayside. He states that he will “widen, straighten and reduce the height of vegetation to “improve” the path on the cliff top! The consultant, David Shrimpton, had contacted MBCL earlier to obtain League views about the placement of the path. We clearly stated that we would want to see the path continue on the verge of Beach road – if possible to Rennison Street, Parkdale. Bicycle Users Groups, the PPCC and Beaumaris Conservation Society have been contacted.
Victorian Planning Provisions (VPP) and Municipal Strategic Statement (MSS)
The Victorian Planning provisions (VPP) are a new set of rules prepared by the Department of Infrastructure to govern the production of planning schemes based on a simplified set of zones. Each local government is required to produce a Municipal Strategic Statement (MSS). The MSS will control (or permit) development in our city for many years to come. The Town & Country Planning Association advise residents to inform their local councils that they want to be involved in the development of councils’ MSS. City of Kingston’s MSS has unfortunately resurrected the 1987 Tract Consultants plan for Mordialloc foreshore,
Some may recall that the Tract plan recommended commercial development (shops, retail outlets, restaurants) on Crown land (public open space) around the pier and creek. The plan included high rise residential development for certain sections. Already there are requests for the Parkdale Lifesaving Club to be converted to tearooms. Approval has been given for extensions to Windows on the Bay and the Mentone Lifesaving Club upper storey to become tearooms.
Melbourne Tourism Development for the City of Kingston
R.Pearson was part of a carefully selected audience to listen to KPMG’s ideas on a tourism project for the City of Kingston. Such projects see the “development” of public open space on the foreshore around the Bay as important for a certain type of tourism.
Dandenong Valley Catchment Action Committee
The State Government has legislated to alter the composition of the DVCA Committee which is part of the Port Phillip Catchment & Land Protection Board. It is important that we are represented on the committee because there are severe and continuing problems affecting the water quality of the creek and Bay. Oil and petrol spills into the Dandenong Creek last week were investigated by the Dandenong EPA, as well as green dye from a factory in South Road flowing into the creek at the Heatherton Drain. This was reported by a Mordialloc resident and traced once again by the staff at the EPA, Dandenong.
The DVCAC committee are concerned about the sediment loads arising from road works and residential development. Leachate from the many tips are a continuing concern. Melbourne Water claim that they must reduce monitoring points in the DVC. Lack of resources!! The EPA also answered a query last week from a Parkdale resident about a strong chemical smell one evening. The resident was told that the odor. came from a chemical used by Nylex in a manufacturing process. The chemical is extremely toxic and dangerous to health. 10,000 litres are stored on site.
Requests for Information
We have been delighted to be able to supply many tertiary and secondary students with information about the creek, foreshore and proposed wetlands or refer them to the appropriate conservation or Friends group if it is outside our area of expertise.
Does your mind go numb when you attempt to understand planning and environmental legislation in Victoria??
The Environmental Defenders Office
presents Environmental Law
Public Rights and Remedies
Where and When
Community Legal Education Workshop
Community Room, Frankston Library, 60 Playne Street, Frankston Sunday 6th July 1997, 1-4pm
Costs: $40.00 wages / $20.00 concession & EDO members.
A publication providing a plain English summary of the legislation will be available to workshop participants at no extra charge.