The curious case of Macaulay’s “drainage land” drags on

The City of Melbourne’s pursuit of acquiring a piece of “drainage land” along the Moonee Ponds Creek for critical open space looks set to continue as more information is sought as to the site’s future use for flood mitigation.

A report tabled by council management at the March 18 Future Melbourne Committee (FMC) meeting recommended that councillors delay any decision on allocating interim development contributions from Macaulay towards purchasing the land.

With Melbourne Water still yet to finalise modelling that would inform the extent of flooding in the area, as well as any necessary “drainage infrastructure projects”, the council said any move to purchase the site was “premature”.

The drainage land dubbed “Macaulay Terraces”, located between the creek and Stubbs St and abutted by Macaulay Rd and Robertson St, is understood to be valued at $20.97 million and is currently owned by VicTrack.

The recommendation followed a resolution from the July 9 FMC last year calling on management to provide options for acquiring the land, acknowledging open space was urgently needed to keep up with the pace of development in Macaulay.

But in its submission on March 18, the Kensington Association (KA) implored councillors to reject council management’s recommendation, arguing it had “comprehensively failed” in its response to last year’s resolution.

Further, the KA stated that it didn’t feel disappointed by the council, rather “we are betrayed”, after Kensington residents were first promised during a meeting in February 2012 that the site would be secured for open space.

“Councillors, more than 13 years have elapsed since that meeting, and you have not secured any land abutting the Moonee Ponds Creek, yet thousands of residents have moved in,” the KA’s interim chair Dr Kate Kennedy wrote, adding that “the urgency to secure public open space has only increased”.

According to the council, around $17.5 million in interim development contributions have been collected in Macaulay, which it claims was not enough to purchase the site together with its $10 million commitment to the North Melbourne Community Hub.

However, Dr Kennedy said the financial information in the council’s report was “incomplete and misleading” and argued that it failed to anticipate development contributions that “must be imminent”.

“Every resident in Kensington knows the progress of the Assemble development at 402-444 Macaulay Rd. You cannot miss it. Nor can you miss that the development is nearing completion,” Dr Kennedy wrote.

Adding this figure [approximately $8 million] to the earlier data showing the trajectory of development contributions shows that the balance for Macaulay development contributions will imminently be $25.5 million.

The KA has also argued that waiting for Melbourne Water and the state government to provide clarity around flood mitigation was to “knowingly invite more delay and uncertainty”.

It noted that land next to Moonee Ponds Creek had largely been owned by the Victorian Railways Department and its successors since 1856, and that governance issues over who was responsible for mitigating flood risks had plagued the area ever since.

Dr Kennedy said that the three reasons provided by council management to “do nothing”, including insufficient development contributions, absence of a funding mechanism for major flood mitigation infrastructure, and delays with the Macaulay Structure Plan, were “not good enough”.

“There is a funding mechanism for this specific land, and it has collected the funds required to acquire that land. You should acquire the land without delay,” Dr Kennedy wrote.

The KA also stressed that not acting now may increase the cost to the council of acquiring the land later, referencing two “For Lease” signs recently placed by VicTrack on two of the three parcels of land that make up the drainage land.

“Far from moving towards a position of cooperation and joined-up governance, VicTrack appears to be manoeuvring to maximise its financial position at the expense of the council and its ratepayers, and the developers that have made development contributions in good faith with the expectation that infrastructure will be built,” Dr Kennedy wrote.

Friends of Moonee Ponds Creek’s Kaye Oddie argued that yet to be determined drainage works was not a reason to delay purchasing the site.

Councillors unanimously passed an amended motion reiterating its position that the drainage land was “essential” both for flood management and providing adequate green open space, and requested another report from management “at the earliest opportunity”.

As part of this report, management is required to provide options to acquire the land, as well as a “clear account” of all collected and projected development contributions from the Kensington side of Macaulay since 2012.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece and council CEO Alison Leighton will also write to relevant ministers and departmental heads at Melbourne Water and the Department of Transport and Planning to stress the “urgency” in resolving the issues.

Ms Leighton will also write to the CEO of VicTrack “stating the importance of the drainage land for drainage and flood mitigation/future open space purposes and requesting dialogue on the terms of any lease of the land.”

While highlighting the council’s investment in acquiring 3600sqm of land for open space at Chelmsford St in 2021, Deputy Lord Mayor Roshena Campbell acknowledged there was “a need for further open space at scale”.

Cr Campbell noted that the Macaulay Development Contributions Plan had originally been proposed alongside Melbourne Water’s “Urban Renewal Cost Recovery Scheme”, which was the mechanism for funding critical drainage and flood mitigation works.

However, with Melbourne Water since having “abandoned” the scheme, Cr Campbell said, “this is the point where we find ourselves today”.

Cr Davydd Griffiths noted the increasing urgency for all levels of government to deliver, stating that “the fact remains, the community has been asking for this for a very long time”.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece said with 25,000 new residents forecasted to live in Macaulay as well as Arden, “we’ve got to get that green corridor” along Moonee Ponds Creek “right” and turn it into a “green oasis”.

“What you see in this amended motion this evening is quite pointed,” Cr Reece said. “I want to make it known I’ll be putting my back into the effort to ensure this very valuable bit of land will be put to its highest and best possible use for the community.” •