Tara Murray
Sydenham Park will contain just two sporting fields as part of the latest update of the Sydenham Park masterplan.
Brimbank council passed a draft Sydenham Park Master Plan Addendum at its council meeting, with updated plans for the area.
Several plans and community consultation have occurred across nearly 20 years.
The new plans cements the future of Robertson’s Homestead at the current location, keeps the golf course intact, there’s a final layout of walking trails that includes a new shared user path proposed locations for new lookout, seating, signs, gates, fencing, bins and drinking fountain and timeframes of grassland restoration.
The plan includes two sporting fields, which was a point of contention among councillors.
Cr Bruce Lancashire raised an alternative motion which included an additional sports field as part of the plan.
He said the area could quite easily accommodate an extra sports field and it was detrimental to the overall park, and that the local community was calling out for extra sports ground.
That motion failed to carry, with only three other councillors supporting it.
Cr Viriginia Tachos said that with every additional sports ground, there is also need for parking and goes against the importance of retaining this space as conservation.
Friends of Sydenham Park’s Neil Hunichen said they had wanted there to be a third sporting field at the park, but it wasn’t a major loss in the overall scheme of things.
“It’s not the outcome we were hoping for,” he said.
“In 2004 the plan had as many as seven sporting fields and the community was very supportive of it.”
Mr Hunichen, who said the Friends of Sydenham Park were talking to other key stakeholders during the consultation period, were thrilled with the rest of the plan, including not carving up the golf course and keeping Robertson’s Homestead where it is.
He said they were hoping that they would start to see some development at the site in the near future.
“There’s been a lot of consultations, but nothing has been done.
“In 2004 they said that it would take 25 years for something to happen, so maybe it might happen by then.”
