Group established June 2011
Compiled a database of 500+ concerned residents (and growing)
Set-up group and communication channel on Facebook
2 X letter drops (distribution 2,000 & 4,000 households)
Submission to Moonee Valley Racing Club on its draft Master Plan
Submission follow-up meeting with Chief Executive Officer of the Moonee Valley Race Course
Meetings with State and Federal MPs
Meetings with Moonee Valley City Council (MVCC)
Incorporated Save Moonee Ponds
Numerous meetings with the following Members of Parliament: Justin Madden, Bill Shorten, Colleen
Hartland, Bernie Finn, Ben Carroll, Andrew Elsbury, Kelvin Thompson.
Met with Minister for Planning, The Honorable Mathew Guy
Liased with MVCC CEO, Councillors and Council Officers
Attended numerous MVCC Council meetings
Extensive research and meetings with consultants on heritage issues
Submissions to MVCC Heritage Study
Submissions to MVCC on proposed Amendment C100
Submissions to MVCC on proposed Residential Parking Amendments
Submissions to MVCC on Late Night Licensed Premises Policy
Submissions to MVCC on Neighbourhood Character Study
Participation in the MVCC Neighbourhood Character Study Consultations
Assisted local residents with the distribution and erection of ‘Red’ ‘No high rise development’ signage initially in the immediate
area of the racecourse and more recently the wider Moonee Valley area.
Hosted an information stall at the Moonee Valley Festival February 2012 and street stalls in Puckle Street to raise
awareness of our cause.
Presented Save Moonee Ponds perspective at the MVCC information sessions held at the Clocktower in December 2011.
Assisted and supported other community groups fighting unreasonable developments in their neighbourhoods.
Engaged Professor John Webb, Latrobe University to undertake a geohydrology study of the MVRC area
Engaged Town Planning advice to review the MVCC initial assessment of the MVRC Masterplan in February 2012
Corresponded with many experts in various areas we felt were of relevance to the MVRC Masterplan.
Corresponded with many supporters replying to questions and requests for information or assistance.
We need your help, volunteer by sending an email to contact us
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2013 - The "President's Report" as presented at the AGM:
Save Moonee Ponds Incorporated
Year Ended 31st December 2013
It is with great pleasure that I present the first President’s Report for Save Moonee Ponds Incorporated.
So much has happened since the Moonee Valley Racing Club held their infamous ‘consultation’ sessions in early June
2011. The lack of real consultation provided the catalyst for the formation of Save Moonee Ponds, our resident’s action group who are working to preserve our community from Moonee Valley Racing Club’s proposed overdevelopment. The SMP aim
is to ensure that MVRC are considerate of the needs of Moonee Valley residents, respectful of our community values and are fair and reasonable with their proposed redevelopment of the racecourse and to give the community a voice in the process.
Despite the MVRC’s claims that the feedback would be addressed their Masterplan was lodged with the Moonee Valley City Council in October of that year with minimal changes to the one that was displayed in June.
It became obvious to the group of people who regularly met to try and work out how we tackled this issue, that we needed to formalize our structure and approach this issue with a professional attitude. Thus Save Moonee Ponds was incorporated: an email address was created, our Facebook pages were established (which now have approximately 585 followers), and a website and Post Office address were established to help keep our followers informed. Since our incorporation we have signed up 182 financial members with many more to come.
One of our first tasks was to raise public awareness of the implications of the MVRC Masterplan. To this end we have held street stalls in Puckle St and at the Moonee Valley Festival where we have been successful in signing up new members, receiving donations and disseminating current updates. We have also completed letterbox drops to over 10,000 homes.
Following the MVRC lodging their Masterplan with the Council in October 2011 we set about analyzing the defects and impacts on the community. This analysis was submitted to Council and we are very pleased to report that Council took on board many of
our comments in their response to the MVRC.
In December 2011 the Moonee Valley City Council afforded SMP the opportunity to participate in their community information sessions to put forward our concerns with the Masterplan to the community. This was well received by the residents who attended the two sessions.
Early in 2012 following the Council briefing to the MVRC on their response to the Masterplan submission we were invited to meet with the MVCC CEO, Neville Smith, and Planning Department representatives. The officers briefed us on their findings and their response to the MVRC. Both our Town Planning Consultant and the Committee were very impressed with the level of
detail Council had gone to, with the quality of the consultants they had employed for the assessment and with their findings. Our rates had been used wisely!
Then we all waited for the MVRC to respond to the requests put to them by the Council, with little result. Their approach was to go to the Minister for Planning claiming an impasse had been reached. We also went to the Minister for Planning to put the case for the residents. We met with Minister Guy in June and were favourably received. He reiterated his approach that the
MVRC needed to engage with the community, something he felt they had not done to date.
On meeting him again at an Australia Day function this year he has not changed his view of MVRC’s lack of community engagement in this process and that the MVCC is the appropriate authority to manage the submission.
Over the past 18 months SMP have written many submissions to the MVCC on issues such as the Heritage Study, Late Night Licensed Premises Policy, Neighbourhood Character Study, C100 Amendment as it related to the Moonee Ponds Activity Centre Structure Plan, and Residential Parking Amendments with particular reference to how these issues would relate to the MVRC Masterplan. We have also appeared at the C100 Planning Panel to put forward our submission and participated in the Neighbourhood Character Study consultations.
We have attended many Council meetings to give the Councillors a face to the SMP names and to put forward our views on various issues that arose over the past months. We believe we have forged a positive relationship with the Council and Councillors.
We have engaged experts in various fields such as Art Deco, the Alistair Clark Roses, Heritage Victoria and Geohydrology to name a few.
We have met several times with all local State and Federal politicians from the Labor, Liberal and Greens party’s and are
extremely grateful for the support they have given to SMP over the past 18months. Particular note should be made of the office’s of Justin Madden & Bill Shorten who have provided the very effective red “No High Rise” signs for
us to distribute throughout the community. Also our thanks for the photo copying services, questions to Parliament and general advice to SMP from all the party’s.
We have also met with MVRC CEO Michael Browell and his representatives on more than one occasion in an attempt to work with the club to find a mutually acceptable outcome. Sadly I can report that this has proved to be a fruitless exercise to date.
Just prior to Christmas the Minister for Planning saw fit to announce the appointment of an Advisory Committee to
address the stalemate that exists between the Council and the MVRC whilst confirming the Council will remain the responsible authority. The timetable was to commence almost immediately but as of this afternoon, MVCC CEO Neville Smith
can confirm that the Council has not heard from the Minister, DPCD nor MVRC and the DPCD website does not list any relevant panels. We have written to the Minister to put our view on the Community being involved earlier rather than later in this process but to date have no reply. In short, the terms of reference have not yet been finalized and therefore the Advisory Committee has
not been established. Again we wait.
I would like to sincerely thank our loyal band of non Committee Members who have frequently offered their time and
assistance to complete tasks that have arisen, such as, various research projects, erecting the red “No High Rise” signs around the neighbourhood, staffing our street stalls and performing letterbox drops to name but a few.
In closing, I would like to thank each and every one of the very talented group of people who have put their hands up
to be part of the SMP Committee. They are a diverse group of people who hale from all walks of life and all age groups. Their ongoing support and continued dedication to the community fight against the overdevelopment of the Moonee
Valley Race Course can only be described as exceptional and it has been an honour to be part of such a group.
Jenny
President
Save Moonee Ponds Inc.
2017
Moonee Valley Race Course development proposal status: The ITP has been completed.
The Moonee Valley Race Course has met one of the specified requirements set by the Advisory Committee in 2014 to produce an ITP (Integrated Transport Plan).
The integrated Transport Plan (ITAP) and the transport assessment and management plan are of high interest to all residents in both Moonee Ponds and West Brunswick. Please refer to the MVCC site for more details on this plan.
"VicRoads and Public Transport Victoria each advised that the two plans were satisfactory on 23 June 2017". Please refer to www.mvcc.vic.gov.au/planning-and-building/major-developments/proposed-moonee-valley-racecourse-development.aspx