By Kerri-Anne Mesner
PROPOSED development of St Albans’ Errington Reserve by Brimbank City Council and VicRoads will go ahead only if agreement is reached with sporting clubs, according to mayor Sam David.
The council proposes a major overhaul of the reserve which depends on sporting clubs relocating while VicRoads plans to take part of the reserve for a Main Road bypass.
The council’s proposals do not include VicRoads’ plans for a bypass.
St Albans junior football, junior cricket and tennis clubs told Star they had been to community consultation sessions about the VicRoads plans, which showed options that required some Errington Reserve land to be acquired.
Council held community information sessions recently for its draft Brimbank open space and playground policy plan — a $34 million proposal to upgrade all parks and open space over eight years.
This plan includes five district parks at the top end of the plan with Errington Reserve earmarked as one of the five.
The council’s urban design manager Nick Mann told residents at a St Albans community information session recently that the plans for Errington Reserve depended on the football and cricket clubs relocating.
There was no mention of the VicRoads bypass plans and how they could affect Brimbank Council’s district park plans.
VicRoads regional director Nial Finegan said VicRoads was planning for a Main Road bypass in St Albans.
“Following extensive consultation with the local community and council about a series of options, VicRoads has selected a preferred route,” Mr Finegan said.
“The detailed alignment of the bypass has not been finalised. However, it is likely that land acquisition will be required on the west side of Percy St, which could impact (on) Errington Reserve.”
The land along the west side of Percy St includes the St Albans Tennis Club’s courts. The site has a history of local residents playing tennis there going back more than 60 years.
The council’s engineering and operations manager Leigh Harrison said the tennis courts would not be affected by the district park proposal and as such had not been mentioned in the council’s proposals.
“The tennis courts lie outside the district park,” Mr Harrison said.
“It is true that the VicRoads’ proposed Main Road bypass will require land acquisition through the courts.
“However, given that these works are at best a number of years off, no consideration has been given at this stage to the affect of this acquisition.”
However, Mr Finegan said VicRoads was working with the council on a planning scheme amendment to reserve land along the alignment of the bypass.
“This will include public exhibition of the amendment, which is scheduled to occur in the latter part of 2008,” he said.
“The community will have an opportunity to provide further comment through this process.”
St Albans Tennis Club president Geoff Guy said that the club had not made any plans for work on its courts at Errington Reserve because the members felt there was uncertainly about the club’s future at the site.
He said that the club undertook some upgrade works four to five years ago on one of the courts but because of the drought, this now needed further works.
Mr Guy said the club had about 100 members and six to eight teams playing competition each season.
He said tennis had been played at the reserve for at least 60 years as his mother — now 86 — played there when she was in her 20s.
Mr Guy said the link could be longer but the club lost most of its memorabilia — including old premiership flags and photographs — in a fire a few years ago.
