Home fight

THE owners of three Emerald houses that are set to be demolished under plans for a pool and skate park have vowed to stay put.
They spoke out at a Cardinia Shire Council forum to consider the draft Emerald Community Facilities Spatial Plan.
The 15-year plan proposes a pool and a skate park, which Emerald residents have been crying out for over many years.
The owners of the homes the council proposed to acquire under the project were visibly upset at the meeting at the Emerald Community House (ECH) on Saturday 21 July.
“The council says that they have plans for my property. Well, I have plans for my property as the owner,” one said.
Another, who has lived in Emerald for decades, wrote on her submission “my house is here to stay”.
The aquatic facility is pencilled in for the Emerald Primary School oval on Kings Road, which residents said was already a traffic nightmare.
Another major concern with the plan was the proposal to put a skate park behind the library – hidden from view with little opportunity for passive surveillance.
ECH chairwoman Mary Farrow said that forum participants were happy that the council had made a start with the planning process again, but many said it had done the same thing many times over the years.
“People were anxious to progress this time beyond butcher paper and feedback forms,” Ms Farrow said.
Opinions varied about the use of Pepi’s Land but it was a popular option for the aquatic centre.
“There was definite concern and resistance regarding the sale of lots from Pepi’s Land for private use as it was strongly believed that the land was intended for public use and enjoyment, not private ownership,” Ms Farrow said.
One thing the crowd agreed on unanimously was that the proposed pool location was unsuitable.
A skate park was a definite winner as long as it wasn’t hidden at the back of Worrell Reserve.
A suitable home for the Emerald Lakers Basketball Club was a hot topic, with potential at Pepi’s Land, Emerald Primary School and Worrell Reserve.
Emerald Community House reiterated its intention to stay put, having just managed a life-saving upgrade to the church hall where the forum was held.
Radio station 3MDR’s president Dale Blair said the council had failed to mention it in any planning, despite its role as the local emergency broadcaster.
It currently operates in cramped conditions at the Mechanics Institute Hall’s rear.
Mr Blair said he had approached Gembrook MP Brad Battin and the council for support to relocate to the police station in Kilvington Drive when it was vacated.
His suggestion that locating the radio station near The Gem theatre would create a vibrant arts precinct was met with a positive response.
The forum’s organisers will present the day’s discussions in a submission to the shire, which will urge it to delay adopting the plan until after October’s council elections and bring any changes back to the community for input.
The submission will also call for a holistic study into sporting and recreation facilities as the crowd thought the proposed plans were not suitably linked or researched.