Why we do not want this in our Park
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We have obtained further information relating to the above application which we share with you.
There is still time to lodge an objection (or lodge a supplementary objection, in addition to your original objection) to this planning application. We have recently learned further information relating to this proposal which we share with you below: The main points we wish to emphasise are: 1 The club pays only $2 per week to have private use of this entire area of Caulfield Park. 2 The Victorian Government promised up to $600,000 to this club in the run-up to the recent election campaign! For What???!!! 3 The visual intrusion of this extremely large white roof, illuminated at night. The structure would be vast, larger than 2 normal residential house blocks (1576 square meters), and at its apex, and for most of its extent, as high as a modern two-storey building. It will be higher than (dwarf) any other surrounding structures and will be visible from a great distance away, and from most other parts of the park. This will intrude into and detract from the important values of the park – its wide-open vistas, open spaces, and relative peace from the daily hustle and bustle. This vast structure will be illuminated at night, which will add further to its visual impact. 4 Permanent Alienation of Public Open Space The park is reserved as a public park, gardens and public recreation area. Glen Eira’s Open Space Strategy, as adopted by Council, defines open space as “the publicly owned land that is currently set aside for, or has the potential in future to be set aside for, recreation, nature conservation, and passive outdoor enjoyment. This includes parks, reserves, gardens, larger urban and civic spaces and forecourts”. This definition most certainly applies to the whole of Caulfield Park. The following relevant points are quoted in italics, directly from the approved Open Space Strategy:
The planned use of the proposed roof is unspecified, the need is unproven, and the structure would fly in the face of all the identified values listed above of the Council’s, already adopted, Open Space Strategy, – heritage, environmental, landscape and cultural, of Caulfield Park. Send your objection to: mail@gleneira.vic.gov.au This is the letter we sent to each Councillor:
Dear Councillor, Re: Planning Application Number GE/DP- 36041/2023 (Caulfield Park Sports Club – 280A Balaclava Road, Caulfield North) We, the Friends of Caulfield Park, are writing directly to you to express our very real concern and objection to the recent application by the Caulfield Park Sports Club for a Planning Permit for ‘ The construction of a roof and buildings and works associated with the existing bowling green in a Public Park and Recreation Zone and land affected by a Heritage Overlay’. Our reasons for objecting are as follows: 1. The visual impact of this extremely large white roof, illuminated at night. It will be 7.5 metres in height (almost double the height of the existing club house roof – and therefore highly visible from a considerable distance away). In fact at its apex, it will be at least the height of a typical modern double-storey town house! Furthermore it will have a footprint of 1576 square metres – more than double two standard residential blocks in Caulfield North!! The application also contains a proposal for pickleball courts to be constructed on the totally disused petanque area. An important value of Caulfield Park is its wide open vistas and open spaces and its relative peace from the hustle and bustle of the surrounding urban area. It is unique in that it has roads on four sides and has no abutting residential use. It is a place that you can cross over into, and feel that you have moved away from the urban sprawl. The western end (which virtually abuts the area of the proposed roof), is Heritage-listed because of its landscape qualities and its amazing variety of trees. A large, white structure of this nature, illuminated at night, will have a permanent negative impact on these highly valued qualities. 2. Need Caulfield Park is Crown Land. It is the most highly valued park in the City of Glen Eira and is heavily used for casual/ informal recreation, for walking, running, organised sport on the many ovals etc. It also houses the tennis club and until relatively a bowls club and croquet club. The Croquet Club closed down a few years ago owing to declining patronage and the Bowls Club managed to acquire the lease over their land and converted itself into the Caulfield Park Sports Club. The original croquet club land has been totally or partially unused ever since. Caulfield Park is located in an area which has the lowest amount of open space per capita in the whole of Metropolitan Melbourne. It is also located in an area where population density is steadily increasing and where the need for open space is growing as a consequence. The pressure on Caulfield Park is growing and land is at a premium. The need is for the community to have readily and freely available, accessible open space . By contrast , participation in bowls is declining. There is no justifiable need for a new, roofed bowling green. Who is it designed to cater for? Just 4 years ago, in 2019 (pre Covid), the Southern Indoor Bowls Club closed its doors because of ‘dwindling numbers’. The need for this roof cannot therefore be justified on the basis of the need for a covered bowling green. It begs the question: what is the purpose of this roofed area which abuts a licensed club room? Is it to cater for purely social members, as well as weddings and other functions? If so, this would be a totally inappropriate use of public land. This would be a gross misuse of community space. If the club has no further use for this land for outdoor bowling, it should be returned for broader community use. To lock it up in perpetuity under a roof for a small and diminishing user group is not in the broader community’s best interests and certainly fails the test of ‘net community benefit’. This same argument applies to the land currently occupied by the disused petanque pistes. The lease over this area should be terminated and the area given over to accessible community activities – basketball rings, table-tennis tables, a volleyball court and an open petanque piste (for example). The application for pickleball courts on this land is nothing more than an ambit claim to justify an extension of the club’s lease over this land. There is no data provided indicating the need for such activities either here or anywhere else and certainly Caulfield Park is not the place to develop a pickleball hub – if indeed that is the intention. 3.Parking and Traffic No assessment is provided of the parking requirements associated with usage of the newly roofed bowing green. An investment of this nature ($1,000,000 on the planning application) is presumably intended to cater for a larger customer base! How many new users will there be? When will they be there? There are currently approximately 120 ordinary car spaces in this part of Caulfield Park. An inspection of usage of these spaces at various times of the day and week indicate that they are usually well over half taken up and very often fully occupied. Parking in Balaclava Road is also at a premium. These spaces in the park are not only for Sports Club and Tennis Club users. They cater for all the park users – the 100’s of casual users every day, the people playing sport on the ovals, the dog walkers etc. So where are the users of this million dollar investment going to park? The application is totally silent on this. No analysis is provided of traffic impacts. The park’s perimeter path is very heavily used by walkers, runners, parents with prams, and many elderly people (reflecting the demographic of the surrounding area). Two roads cross this perimeter path to access the parking areas. Vehicles are instructed to give way to pedestrians who have right of way here. However despite give-way signs ,vehicles frequently drive in, paying little regard to pedestrians If there is increasing circulation of vehicles accessing/ searching for car parking in the park this will further decrease safety for pedestrians on the perimeter path. 4.Lights/ Noise The structure will be illuminated at night (300 lux) – the number of nights and the hours of illumination are unspecified. However once again, one can only surmise that if the Club is going to invest a large sum in this structure it aims to maximise usage. The visual impact of this large white illuminated dome will be extreme and significantly impact on the enjoyment of other users of the park in the evening. Noise impacts have also not been covered in the application. Noise associated with usage of the structure at any time, but particularly at night, on nearby residents and park users, must be considered and has not been mentioned. 5. Quality of the Environment Under the Roof. At present, the surface of the green is turf – ie a permeable surface for rain. It can only be surmised that a synthetic turf will be installed. The surface will no longer be permeable by rain and there will be significant run off from the roof. The area underneath the roof will become damp, dank, permanently in shadow and gloomy unless illuminated. How can/will this area be used? Is a synthetic bowls surface usable for anything other than bowls? What sort of shoes must be worn on this surface? The potential is for this whole structure to be a white elephant or to be quietly converted into non- bowling purposes. As pointed out earlier, the indoor greens in Caulfield South were closed just 4 years ago (pre-Covid) owing to lack of patronage. There is also the issue of the outer surface of the roof. How will this be kept clean? For all the reasons listed above FCP objects strongly to this planning application and urges Council to reject it. In particular, it totally fails the test of ‘net community benefit’ in that it’s benefits would flow to a small and diminishing sporting group at the expense of the broader community. As a final comment, it has recently come to our attention that the Caulfield Park Sports Club pays $1 per year for the use of this land. This is preposterous! Their lease was renewed 5 years ago and this rental was perpetuated. The broader community has been thoroughly let down by previous Councils in this matter. To further perpetuate this situation, by giving the Club the right to use this valuable land for what will have every potential turn into little more than a subsidised pub for members and their guests, or to be hired out for private functions, would be nothing short of a disgrace. David Wilde President-Friends of Caulfield Park |
This is the letter we sent to each Councillor:
Dear Councillor, Re: Planning Application Number GE/DP- 36041/2023 (Caulfield Park Sports Club – 280A Balaclava Road, Caulfield North) We, the Friends of Caulfield Park, are writing directly to you to express our very real concern and objection to the recent application by the Caulfield Park Sports Club for a Planning Permit for ‘ The construction of a roof and buildings and works associated with the existing bowling green in a Public Park and Recreation Zone and land affected by a Heritage Overlay’. Our reasons for objecting are as follows: 1. The visual impact of this extremely large white roof, illuminated at night. It will be 7.5 metres in height (almost double the height of the existing club house roof – and therefore highly visible from a considerable distance away). In fact at its apex, it will be at least the height of a typical modern double-storey town house! Furthermore it will have a footprint of 1576 square metres – more than double two standard residential blocks in Caulfield North!! The application also contains a proposal for pickleball courts to be constructed on the totally disused petanque area. An important value of Caulfield Park is its wide open vistas and open spaces and its relative peace from the hustle and bustle of the surrounding urban area. It is unique in that it has roads on four sides and has no abutting residential use. It is a place that you can cross over into, and feel that you have moved away from the urban sprawl. The western end (which virtually abuts the area of the proposed roof), is Heritage-listed because of its landscape qualities and its amazing variety of trees. A large, white structure of this nature, illuminated at night, will have a permanent negative impact on these highly valued qualities. 2. Need Caulfield Park is Crown Land. It is the most highly valued park in the City of Glen Eira and is heavily used for casual/ informal recreation, for walking, running, organised sport on the many ovals etc. It also houses the tennis club and until relatively a bowls club and croquet club. The Croquet Club closed down a few years ago owing to declining patronage and the Bowls Club managed to acquire the lease over their land and converted itself into the Caulfield Park Sports Club. The original croquet club land has been totally or partially unused ever since. Caulfield Park is located in an area which has the lowest amount of open space per capita in the whole of Metropolitan Melbourne. It is also located in an area where population density is steadily increasing and where the need for open space is growing as a consequence. The pressure on Caulfield Park is growing and land is at a premium. The need is for the community to have readily and freely available, accessible open space . By contrast , participation in bowls is declining. There is no justifiable need for a new, roofed bowling green. Who is it designed to cater for? Just 4 years ago, in 2019 (pre Covid), the Southern Indoor Bowls Club closed its doors because of ‘dwindling numbers’. The need for this roof cannot therefore be justified on the basis of the need for a covered bowling green. It begs the question: what is the purpose of this roofed area which abuts a licensed club room? Is it to cater for purely social members, as well as weddings and other functions? If so, this would be a totally inappropriate use of public land. This would be a gross misuse of community space. If the club has no further use for this land for outdoor bowling, it should be returned for broader community use. To lock it up in perpetuity under a roof for a small and diminishing user group is not in the broader community’s best interests and certainly fails the test of ‘net community benefit’. This same argument applies to the land currently occupied by the disused petanque pistes. The lease over this area should be terminated and the area given over to accessible community activities – basketball rings, table-tennis tables, a volleyball court and an open petanque piste (for example). The application for pickleball courts on this land is nothing more than an ambit claim to justify an extension of the club’s lease over this land. There is no data provided indicating the need for such activities either here or anywhere else and certainly Caulfield Park is not the place to develop a pickleball hub – if indeed that is the intention. 3.Parking and Traffic No assessment is provided of the parking requirements associated with usage of the newly roofed bowing green. An investment of this nature ($1,000,000 on the planning application) is presumably intended to cater for a larger customer base! How many new users will there be? When will they be there? There are currently approximately 120 ordinary car spaces in this part of Caulfield Park. An inspection of usage of these spaces at various times of the day and week indicate that they are usually well over half taken up and very often fully occupied. Parking in Balaclava Road is also at a premium. These spaces in the park are not only for Sports Club and Tennis Club users. They cater for all the park users – the 100’s of casual users every day, the people playing sport on the ovals, the dog walkers etc. So where are the users of this million dollar investment going to park? The application is totally silent on this. No analysis is provided of traffic impacts. The park’s perimeter path is very heavily used by walkers, runners, parents with prams, and many elderly people (reflecting the demographic of the surrounding area). Two roads cross this perimeter path to access the parking areas. Vehicles are instructed to give way to pedestrians who have right of way here. However despite give-way signs ,vehicles frequently drive in, paying little regard to pedestrians If there is increasing circulation of vehicles accessing/ searching for car parking in the park this will further decrease safety for pedestrians on the perimeter path. 4.Lights/ Noise The structure will be illuminated at night (300 lux) – the number of nights and the hours of illumination are unspecified. However once again, one can only surmise that if the Club is going to invest a large sum in this structure it aims to maximise usage. The visual impact of this large white illuminated dome will be extreme and significantly impact on the enjoyment of other users of the park in the evening. Noise impacts have also not been covered in the application. Noise associated with usage of the structure at any time, but particularly at night, on nearby residents and park users, must be considered and has not been mentioned. 5. Quality of the Environment Under the Roof. At present, the surface of the green is turf – ie a permeable surface for rain. It can only be surmised that a synthetic turf will be installed. The surface will no longer be permeable by rain and there will be significant run off from the roof. The area underneath the roof will become damp, dank, permanently in shadow and gloomy unless illuminated. How can/will this area be used? Is a synthetic bowls surface usable for anything other than bowls? What sort of shoes must be worn on this surface? The potential is for this whole structure to be a white elephant or to be quietly converted into non- bowling purposes. As pointed out earlier, the indoor greens in Caulfield South were closed just 4 years ago (pre-Covid) owing to lack of patronage. There is also the issue of the outer surface of the roof. How will this be kept clean? For all the reasons listed above FCP objects strongly to this planning application and urges Council to reject it. In particular, it totally fails the test of ‘net community benefit’ in that it’s benefits would flow to a small and diminishing sporting group at the expense of the broader community. As a final comment, it has recently come to our attention that the Caulfield Park Sports Club pays $1 per year for the use of this land. This is preposterous! Their lease was renewed 5 years ago and this rental was perpetuated. The broader community has been thoroughly let down by previous Councils in this matter. To further perpetuate this situation, by giving the Club the right to use this valuable land for what will have every potential turn into little more than a subsidised pub for members and their guests, or to be hired out for private functions, would be nothing short of a disgrace. David Wilde President-Friends of Caulfield Park Friends of Caulfield Park have a
"Vision" for Caulfield Park This roof in a Heritage public park is not a part of it! |
Values with respect to the Park
The Environment
Caulfield Park is a very large open park space in south-east Melbourne. It provides recreational opportunities for a wide range of users. These include casual users as well as tennis,bowls, soccer, cricket, lacrosse, recreational walking on a surrounding walking track and a leash-free area for dogs. The park contains pavilions, a conservatory, childrens' play areas. and a heritage-listed arboretum for those who simply like to meander through its unstructured, non-enclosed vistas.
Principal Value Statement
The value of Caulfield Park is that of a multi-functional ‘PARK’.
This includes the maintenance of the present diversity of Caulfield Park, together with a balanced respect for the recreational values of all users including all those listed above.
The principal values of Caulfield Park include the retention and maintenance of:
Green space and uninterrupted vistas by ensuring that all future building and parking developments are park-sympathetic, in colour, shape, and location.
Historic and significant artifacts such as the rotunda, conservatory, bronze statues and heritage-listed arboretum at the west of the Park
Sporting amenity including the principle cricket ground, the grassed sports pitches at the east end of the park, and adequate sporting facilities
Children’s play areas
Preservation of the park’s values and options for future generations (employing the precautionary principle – don’t waste what you can’t get back)
Park integrity
Relates to the retention of the existing park ambiance and includes:
Minimal loss of Green Space including:
No further extension of car parking that results in the loss of Green Space.
No further construction of excessively large buildings that encroach on Green Space.
Minimal loss of Vista
No compromise of the uninterrupted soft green views from inside or outside the park by either multi-story or landscape-intrusive buildings
Non-severance of space due to roads crossing the walk path around Caulfield Park
Non-severance of park concept by the inappropriate positioning of large buildings (e.g. across its centre).
Park Users
FoCP acknowledges the needs of all park user types including:
Recreational Walkers and Dog Walkers
Casual Users from near and far, including those who appreciate the “existence value” of the park in its current form.
Sports People
Children
Residents of multi-unit developments in the immediate area who rely on the park for outdoor activities (their de-facto backyard)
Car parking
FCPresists the use of park land in an area recognised as deficient in open space for any new car parks
Management and Amenity
FoCP is concerned about the impacts of:Noise – impact on surrounding residents
Lighting – impact on surrounding residents
People in park at night – safety issues
Existence Values vs. Usage Values
Many people use the park from a large regional catchment. Many others value the existence of this large area of green space even if they do not use it.
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