The Case for the relocation of the Glen Eira Depot out of Caulfield Park to a small pocket within the Neerim Lodge Stables precinct (within Caulfield Racecourse Reserve) when training is removed.
For several decades, the Glen Eira Council and before this existed, the Caulfield Council, gave public undertakings to move the Council Storage Depot, currently situated on Crown Land in Caulfield Park, to an alternative site.
It has long been recognised that this land use, in the middle of a public park, in an area which is desperately short of open space is totally inappropriate.
The Council is still giving undertakings to remove it but confesses that it does not know when this move will occur, stating that no suitable site is available
We, the Friends of Caulfield Park, and many residents of Glen Eira, are weary of this endless prevarication and would now like to propose an obvious solution.
The Victorian State Government through the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust has commenced the preparation of a Land Management Plan to establish long-term directions for the use of the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve. The preparation of the Land Management Plan is occurring in the context of recent changes to the Melbourne Racing Club lease and licence arrangements – in particular, the significant land that will become available for public use following the relocation of horse training from the reserve by 2023.
This additional land will be available in four key precincts of the Racecourse Reserve, one of which is the Neerim Lodge Stables Precinct located in the south-east corner adjacent to Neerim Road and the Frankston railway line. This precinct consists of 26,600 square metres of land, much of which is covered with existing stable buildings.
This land within the Neerim Lodge Stables precinct has been locked away from community access and use for many years and is very close to where a previous Council Depot was situated before Caulfield Council sold the site to developers and consolidated the depot functions at Caulfield Park. Thus, the precedent for a depot located in this immediate area already exists. In addition, it has good access off Neerim Road (The government intends to grade separate the railway line at this point thus road access and traffic flow will improve here in the future).
The current Council Depot in Caulfield Park occupies approximately 5000 square meters. The Neerim Lodge Stables precinct has an approximate area of 26,600 square metres, over 5 times the size of the depot now located at Caulfield Park.
It is therefore proposed that a small pocket of this land (less than one-fifth), be set aside for a new, relocated depot. It may well be that with thought and planning that some of the existing stable buildings can be adapted for the purposes of this Depot.
At present, the access to the current Caulfield Park Depot is very poor, requiring three separate vehicular entrances which further intrude into the public park area around the Depot. The Neerim Lodge Stables site described above with direct vehicular access from a main road would perfectly suit access needs.
It must be emphasised that only approximately one-fifth of the available land at the Neerim Lodge Stables precinct would be taken up by a relocated depot. At least 20,000 square metres would still be available for public park and recreation purposes. None of the existing significant trees on the site need to be impacted by the plan.
If such an enlightened decision were to be made, it would have many benefits for the ever-increasing numbers who use Caulfield Park for every sort of recreation.
Council have already approved an updated Masterplan that defines the practical use and benefit of the Depot area once it is moved out of Caulfield Park. The Masterplan clearly identifies the aspiration of moving the depot from the park and the consequent extension of the Aviary Garden into the Depot area.
Both the Racecourse Reserve and Caulfield Park are Crown Land, but as noted, Caulfield Park already has a recently updated masterplan which includes the Depot relocation and a recognised and defined need for extra community space in this area. The recent Open Space Strategy prepared by the Glen Eira Council recognised Caulfield Park as the premier park in the municipality. This underscores the incongruous nature of a storage depot which includes many items of no direct park relevance including cherry picker, street sweepers, located within Caulfield Park.
The Neerim Lodge Stables precinct of the racecourse has been excised from the public for decades and there is nothing for the community to give up in moving the Depot to this location. Also, since it is all Crown Land, there would be no government transactional costs involved.
The land Management Plan for the Racecourse Reserve is in the preparation stage and is out for public comment and thus no commitments for any particular land use have been made. This is therefore an ideal time for the government, the council and the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust to work together to shape this outcome and deliver a solution for one of the worst problem areas within Glen Eira; a problem which has been an ongoing and unresolved issue for so long.
It has long been recognised that this land use, in the middle of a public park, in an area which is desperately short of open space is totally inappropriate.
The Council is still giving undertakings to remove it but confesses that it does not know when this move will occur, stating that no suitable site is available
We, the Friends of Caulfield Park, and many residents of Glen Eira, are weary of this endless prevarication and would now like to propose an obvious solution.
The Victorian State Government through the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust has commenced the preparation of a Land Management Plan to establish long-term directions for the use of the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve. The preparation of the Land Management Plan is occurring in the context of recent changes to the Melbourne Racing Club lease and licence arrangements – in particular, the significant land that will become available for public use following the relocation of horse training from the reserve by 2023.
This additional land will be available in four key precincts of the Racecourse Reserve, one of which is the Neerim Lodge Stables Precinct located in the south-east corner adjacent to Neerim Road and the Frankston railway line. This precinct consists of 26,600 square metres of land, much of which is covered with existing stable buildings.
This land within the Neerim Lodge Stables precinct has been locked away from community access and use for many years and is very close to where a previous Council Depot was situated before Caulfield Council sold the site to developers and consolidated the depot functions at Caulfield Park. Thus, the precedent for a depot located in this immediate area already exists. In addition, it has good access off Neerim Road (The government intends to grade separate the railway line at this point thus road access and traffic flow will improve here in the future).
The current Council Depot in Caulfield Park occupies approximately 5000 square meters. The Neerim Lodge Stables precinct has an approximate area of 26,600 square metres, over 5 times the size of the depot now located at Caulfield Park.
It is therefore proposed that a small pocket of this land (less than one-fifth), be set aside for a new, relocated depot. It may well be that with thought and planning that some of the existing stable buildings can be adapted for the purposes of this Depot.
At present, the access to the current Caulfield Park Depot is very poor, requiring three separate vehicular entrances which further intrude into the public park area around the Depot. The Neerim Lodge Stables site described above with direct vehicular access from a main road would perfectly suit access needs.
It must be emphasised that only approximately one-fifth of the available land at the Neerim Lodge Stables precinct would be taken up by a relocated depot. At least 20,000 square metres would still be available for public park and recreation purposes. None of the existing significant trees on the site need to be impacted by the plan.
If such an enlightened decision were to be made, it would have many benefits for the ever-increasing numbers who use Caulfield Park for every sort of recreation.
Council have already approved an updated Masterplan that defines the practical use and benefit of the Depot area once it is moved out of Caulfield Park. The Masterplan clearly identifies the aspiration of moving the depot from the park and the consequent extension of the Aviary Garden into the Depot area.
Both the Racecourse Reserve and Caulfield Park are Crown Land, but as noted, Caulfield Park already has a recently updated masterplan which includes the Depot relocation and a recognised and defined need for extra community space in this area. The recent Open Space Strategy prepared by the Glen Eira Council recognised Caulfield Park as the premier park in the municipality. This underscores the incongruous nature of a storage depot which includes many items of no direct park relevance including cherry picker, street sweepers, located within Caulfield Park.
The Neerim Lodge Stables precinct of the racecourse has been excised from the public for decades and there is nothing for the community to give up in moving the Depot to this location. Also, since it is all Crown Land, there would be no government transactional costs involved.
The land Management Plan for the Racecourse Reserve is in the preparation stage and is out for public comment and thus no commitments for any particular land use have been made. This is therefore an ideal time for the government, the council and the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust to work together to shape this outcome and deliver a solution for one of the worst problem areas within Glen Eira; a problem which has been an ongoing and unresolved issue for so long.
