At the community feedback session on 26 April 2012, Brimbank City Council claimed that they were still advocating for the community as per the Urban Design Principles they endorsed in 2011.
Here’s some facts about that:
At the Ordinary Council Meeting (No. 300) on Tuesday 15 March 2011, Brimbank City Council endorsed some Urban Design Principles to guide the development of the Anderson Road grade separations. The principles included:
- Avoid any encroachment into the HV McKay Memorial Gardens, a registered heritage site of State significance, being one of only two intact industrial heritage gardens in Victoria.
- Avoid any impact on the McKay homesteads at 145 and 147 Anderson Road, registered as sites of local heritage value.
- Minimise encroachment on the established gardens of these two properties, recognising that the mature trees are an important part of the heritage value of the homesteads.
- Retain and enhance important pedestrian access across Anderson Road, the rail corridor and HV McKay Memorial Gardens.
- Ensure all existing formal and informal pedestrian links to the Sunshine Town Centre across Anderson Road and the railway corridor are enhanced and retained.
- Ensure all pedestrian links across Anderson Road to the HV McKay Memorial Gardens are enhanced and retained.
- Maintain active pedestrian frontages along private property and the HV McKay Memorial Gardens.
Then, one year later, at the Ordinary Council Meeting (No. 315) on Tuesday 20 Mar 2012 the Council made a recommendation that they :
- Continue to advocate for improved amenity and community benefits in accordance with Urban Design Principles adopted by Council for… the Anderson Road Grade separations on 15 March 2011.
Three days after that, on 23 March 2012, Council issued a press release stating, in part:
- Chair of Brimbank Administrators Mr Peter Lewinsky said Council was satisfied that the preliminary designs indicated the Regional Rail Link Authority has taken into account most of the design principles developed by Council,
- Brimbank City Council has formally resolved that any financial compensation it may receive for the impact of Regional Rail Link works on the HV McKay Gardens would be allocated by Council to the implementation of the HV McKay Gardens Action Plan.
This press release appears to fly in the face of claims by Brimbank City Council that they are still advocating to “Avoid any encroachment into the HV McKay Memorial Gardens…” or to “Ensure all existing formal and informal pedestrian links to the Sunshine Town Centre across Anderson Road and the railway corridor are enhanced and retained”.
Shame, Brimbank Council, Shame.