Flood worries loom over plan to transform Sandown Racecourse into suburb

1 week ago 6

Melbourne Racing Club has not provided capable item connected however it volition safeguard caller homes from flooding erstwhile it redevelops Sandown Racecourse into a caller suburb, the section assembly has warned.

A peculiar readying committee acceptable up by Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny is receiving nationalist submissions connected the racing club’s petition to rezone the 112-hectare Springvale tract for 7500 homes. The nine wants the contentious project to assistance money its $300 cardinal redevelopment of Caulfield Racecourse.

City of Greater Dandenong councillor Rhonda Garad fears “another Maribyrnong” could hap if warnings astir drainage astatine Sandown aren’t decently addressed,

Sandown has been a equine racing way since 1888 and has hosted centrifugal sports since the 1960s. The projected readying strategy amendment would let a caller suburb to beryllium built successful 4 stages implicit 20 years, with flat developments up to 12 storeys high, on with retail and commercialized abstraction and parkland.

While Dandenong Council has stated it is “generally supportive of the concept”, its officers person flagged “significant concerns” astir a deficiency of accusation astir however tempest h2o and flood flows from 2 waterways – Mile Creek and Police Road main drain – moving done the tract volition beryllium dealt with earlier location gathering starts.

“Not lone does assembly person this concern, but besides Melbourne Water and South East Water – arsenic the adept authorities successful this abstraction – besides stock the aforesaid concern,” Dandenong Council’s caput of biology planning, Brett Jackson, told the most caller assembly meeting.

The assembly has taken contented with the projected series of the readying process, which would mean the rezoning happening earlier a stormwater maestro program had been signed off, and is acrophobic astir flood mapping for the country being retired of date.

“Council considers it is indispensable to show present that stormwater and flood flows tin beryllium managed on-site, and not adversely interaction connected onshore downstream,” council’s submission reads.

“If the amendment is approved, and it is subsequently discovered that stormwater cannot beryllium efficaciously managed on-site, determination could beryllium implications for aboriginal occupants of the site, arsenic good arsenic surrounding existing residents.”

Greens councillor Rhonda Garad said she shared those concerns, and that nonmigratory experiences successful the 2022 Maribyrnong River floods were beforehand of mind. “If they don’t adequately mitigate the h2o on-site, determination [will] beryllium downstream impacts and that could beryllium devastating for those radical who astatine this signifier person nary thought this is happening,” she said. “The impacts could beryllium enormous.”

A Melbourne Water spokesperson confirmed the authorization had asked for “changes to the developer’s projected drainage and flood absorption strategy to guarantee that caller developments don’t negatively interaction neighbouring oregon downstream properties”.

The assembly besides flagged interest astir what the series of the redevelopment would mean for the promised unfastened space.

“The superior areas of unfastened abstraction are located wrong the equine racing track, which means they volition either not beryllium developed until aft equine racing ceases, oregon assemblage entree to the areas of unfastened abstraction volition beryllium limited,” officers wrote.

The assembly raised concerns astir the 4 antithetic precincts being redeveloped successful an “ad hoc oregon disjointed mode with nary nonstop oregon convenient entree to nationalist transport, nationalist infrastructure and assemblage facilities”, and besides argued determination should beryllium 20 per cent affordable lodging baked into the plans, alternatively of the existent 5 per cent.

The eventual decision-maker connected the redevelopment volition beryllium the readying minister.

The racing nine said successful a connection that its projected redevelopment “has had respect to flooding issues, absorption of these issues and stormwater drainage” and that those would beryllium considered by the Sandown Racecourse Advisory Committee panel, acceptable up by Kilkenny.

The readying curate was approached for remark but her bureau did not respond. Public accumulation of the plans and submissions are open until June 24.