We’ll fight sports club, vow residents

By Sarah Schwager
BEACONSFIELD residents and a local MP have added their voices to concerns over the proposed Beaconsfield Sports Club.
About 250 residents attended a meeting run by developer DSL Securities last Wednesday to discuss the development.
Locals had until today (Wednesday) to put their objections to Cardinia Council.
Beaconsfield resident Clare de Kok said the developers had been rude and abusive during the meeting and there had been many unanswered questions.
“The crowd was very openminded and polite but by the end they were getting quite irate,” she said.
“Those who hadn’t signed the petition at the start of the meeting were coming out in droves and signing it.
“If anything, the meeting convinced them more.”
The proposed threestorey sports club would be situated on May Road behind the Beaconsfield Community Centre and Kindergarten, and would house 26 motel rooms, a function room, bistro, club lounge, TAB Sportsbet and 72 poker machines.
Gembrook MP Tammy Lobato attended the meeting and said as a result she would be putting in an objection to the proposal on behalf of her constituents.
“My feelings are that the developers went to the meeting kicking and screaming,” Ms Lobato said.
“It was clearly evident that there were many concerns from the community to the proposal and there were many unanswered questions.”
She said of the couple of hundred people at the meeting, most were just ordinary residents who were genuinely concerned about the proposal.
Development spokesperson Robin Daley said the developers thought they had an obligation to discuss the proposal with the community, but he said he was disappointed about a minority of the residents who had a plan to disrupt the meeting.
Mr Daley said many residents came up to him after the meeting to express their support.
He said there would not be problems with traffic accessibility, the venue would have appropriate security and the club would commit $75,000 a year to local sporting clubs.
He also said the club would have 50 job opportunities, most of which would be casual positions, and had the support of Athletics Australia.
Mr Daley said the developers were now waiting on council approval.
Mrs de Kok said even if the council rejected the proposal and it went to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), the residents intended to fight it all the way.
She said the Ministers for Environment, Gaming, and Planning had been contacted, as well as the Committee for Outer Suburban Infrastructure, all the local MPs, Opposition spokespersons and VCAT itself.
Mrs de Kok said she had 30 written objections and 200 signatures on a petition, and she knew of a number of other petitions circulating the community.