By Kerri-Anne Mesner
JUNIOR footballers and cricketers expect to continue their long association with St Albans’ Errington Reserve, which was under threat from Brimbank City Council’s park plans.
The council’s $34 million draft open space and playground policy plan suggested developing Errington Reserve into a district park – one of five proposed for the municipality.
The plan required the St Albans junior football and cricket clubs to be relocated, which was only revealed at a public meeting in January, months after the draft plan was released.
Council officers have met the clubs’ representatives during the past few months to discuss relocation options.
St Albans Football Club president Michael Psailia said the discussion had resulted in the clubs staying at Errington Reserve.
Cricket has been played at the reserve for about 100 years, while football has been played there for more than 60 years.
The two junior clubs come under the umbrella of the St Albans Sports Club, which was formed by the St Albans cricket and football clubs in 1982.
The sports club’s general manager, Des Barnard, said the clubs did not want to break the association with the reserve and there were no spaces big enough in the area for a relocation.
Mr Barnard said neither the junior cricket nor junior football club would be relocating.
However, the council’s engineering and operations general manager, Leigh Harrison, said no decision had been made at this stage on any of the matters raised by the consultation.
He said the council was still in the process of considering the various submissions received from community groups and individuals on the draft policy.
“Once this process is complete, the draft policy and plan will be coming back to the council for consideration,” Mr Harrison said.
