A “once in a lifetime opportunity to improve our premier reserve” is the way one local councillor has described the adoption of an amended Camp Reserve Master Plan in recent days.
At its September meeting last week, Mount Alexander Shire Council voted 6:1 in favour of adopting the new plan intended to guide some $6 million of works and upgrades planned for the Castlemaine reserve in a saga dating back at least a decade.
But the move drew debate, with Cr Bronwen Machin strong in her opposition to aspects of the plan that ultimately curried favour with other councillors when it came time to vote.
The successful version – favoured by the reserve’s own committee of management – differs from the version that council officers were recommending the council adopt, notably in terms of the planned siting of new netball and multipurpose courts.
While council officers recommended siting the two new courts at the northern end of the reserve, the committee’s preferred option was to put them at the southern end, near the Forest Street entrance.
Cr Max Lesser moved in favour of adopting “the committee’s preferred option”.
“They know what is required to manage this facility,” Cr Lesser said in support of his motion.
Cr Dave Petrusma seconded the motion, but Cr Bronwen Machin robustly opposed Cr Lesser’s motion.
Cr Machin cited heritage concerns, community objections and concerns that spending money on an additional netball court at the reserve at all represented a waste of public money.
“My concern about the netball courts is why do we need two on the odd chance that they might want to play a final when we’ve just spent $2 million on six courts at Wesley Hill,” Cr Machin later told the Express.
“If you move it down to one court it becomes a much simpler option.”
The newly adopted plan will also feature a new community pavilion – with change rooms, social areas, meeting space, and kitchen facilities – to be located on the western flank of the reserve.
Responding to public concerns raised over the location, the council’s director of infrastructure and development, Jess Howard, said the main reason that site was chosen was in order to “keep the pavilion out of the flood overlay zone”.
Ultimately Cr Lesser’s motion to adopt the reserve committee’s preferred version of the amended master plan won out, with Cr Tony Cordy referring to it as “a once in a lifetime opportunity to improve our premier reserve”.
“I’d like to see the plan move forward to the design phase,” Cr Cordy said.
“Approval of the master plan is an important stepping stone to getting this going.”
Mayor Cr Christine Henderson said the new plan was developed in response to feedback from the committee of management and nearly 90 submissions received during public consultation on the draft plan last year.
“It was informed by a number of independent reports that looked at impacts on traffic, heritage, trees and flood, in response to concerns we heard during community engagement,” Cr Henderson said.
“This included things like the location of the pavilion, car parks and pathways, and a strong desire to protect trees and heritage at the reserve.”
More consultation will be undertaken on detailed designs for major elements, including the community pavilion and court design, with the upgrade to infrastructure forecast to cost around $6 to $7 million and to be delivered over several years.
