by Cam Lucadou-Wells
After weeks of public hearings, a plan to rezone Sandown Racecourse into a suburb remains up in the air.
This is despite an inquiry report by the State-appointed Sandown Racecourse Advisory Committee (SRAC) backing the proposal for 7500 dwellings, 16,000 residents and retail, community, sports and commercial facilities on the iconic 112 hectare site.
In a report released in December, the SRAC described the plan as “well founded and strategically justified” – especially with targets of 51,000 new homes in Greater Dandenong by 2050.
“The Sandown site presents a significant redevelopment opportunity with the potential to make a substantial contribution to required housing supply in the City of Greater Dandenong and the southeast region of Melbourne more generally.
“The Committee was not presented with compelling submissions or evidence that challenged this.”
Ironically the biggest hurdle appears to come from the proponent Melbourne Racing Club (MRC).
In October, an MRC board coup wrested control in the hands of chair John Kanga and the Save Our MRC group, which wants to retain racing and opposed a full sell-off.
The SRAC noted many “passionate” submissions to retain horse and motor racing at the site.
But the fate of horse and motor racing at the venue was a matter for the MRC, it stated.
The SRAC’s key findings included increasing the affordable housing quota from 5 per cent to 10 per cent – a total of 750 homes.
This was well short of Greater Dandenong Council’s desired 20 per cent.
It recommended the first homes to be built both near Princes Highway – which was the MRC’s preference – and near Sandown Park railway station – which was the council’s wish.
It also backed greater building heights of up to 16 storeys – rather than the proposed 12 storeys.
Sandown’s heritage grandstand could be the potential site for a new primary school, the SRAC found.
It said more effort should be made to preserve the open woodland near Corrigan Road – though noting that the road needed to be widened to cater for increasing traffic.
It found Sandown Road and Virginia Road could take higher traffic volumes, but the Princes Highway “gateway” overpass’s viability was an “unanswered question”.
The site was well serviced by trains and buses, with scope for an internal bus network.
Flooding risks at Mile Creek, including upstream and downstream of Sandown, was also an unresolved question for the SRAC.
Greater Dandenong Council and Melbourne Water had raised concerns about plans to redesign Sandown’s lake into a waterway and to remove the southern dam.
“The Committee does not support any increase in flooding of any areas off-site arising from the development.
“Any adverse impact on any area, especially on Warner Reserve and surrounding properties, must be avoided.
“This applies now and in the climate change scenario.”
The proposed planning scheme amendment C229gdan is now in the hands of the Planning Minister.
