MP wants park assurance
Simon Craig, Moreland Leader, 8th March 2010
Redevelopment of the former Kodak factory in Coburg North should be put on hold until the protection of neighbouring parkland has been secured, says Wills federal MP Kelvin Thomson.
Mr Thomson, in his submission to a public consultation over the Kodak site, said a decision to keep the 10ha Edgars and Merri Creeks Parkland as public open space must be in place before the redevelopment is allowed.
The State Government last year took over planning controls for the 27ha site, between Elizabeth St and Edgars Creek. Public submissions on a proposal to build at housing and shops closed on February 22.
Mr Thomson said the redevelopment plan “must not proceed” unless VicRoads handed over the parkland, bought in the 1970s for a now-abandoned planned freeway, to Moreland Council to maintain.
“If the worst-case scenario unfolds and VicRoads refuses to gift the land to the local community, the Kodak Redevelopment Plan makes no provision for alternative public space.” The parkland’s “environmental, ecological and recreational importance to the community of Coburg far outweighs any short-term profit the State Government may be able to derive from its sale”.
A taskforce set up to investigate the future of the parkland is expected to submit its report to Planning Minister Justin Madden soon. The minister will then decide its fate.