“Why did we choose 15:00? This is a random number that just came up. This is an amendment on the go, not what was considered, ”Dimitriadis said.
The campaign to close the golf course and use the space as a public park came into force during the pandemic, when the state government banned golf and residents began using the area for walks, picnics and recreation.
As the lease of the golf course expires in late June, in October the council asked the public about what to do with the venue, and was flooded with thousands of applications from residents seeking to return the course.
After a debate broke out in the community about how the public could best use the 24-hectare site, Northcott MP Kat Theophanaus stepped in to offer a compromise and offered $ 200,000 to redesign the site as a “switch” to put end to controversy.
Several residents attended Monday night’s meeting to raise questions and make emotional requests for more green space, arguing that ideas put forward by the community during the consultation process – such as setting up an open-air cinema or mini-golf course – were not considered.
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Opponents of the proposal complained that it prefers a small number of golfers to the wishes of much of the local community and called for greater access to the desired greenery.
Resident Ruth Listan, who helped deliver more than 10,000 leaflets about the proposal to neighbors in the area, said the plan was “an expensive copy of what already exists.”
“We need a lot of money to get the council back to square one, when much of the local community has pushed into a small park while the loss-making golf continues,” she said.
However, North Community & Golf Hub spokesman Bill Jennings argued that a golf course could only be cost-effective if it had nine holes and would open seven days a week during daylight hours.
With Nell Heroes and Rachel Dexter
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https://www.watoday.com.au/national/victoria/a-win-win-parts-of-northcote-public-golf-course-set-aside-for-community-use-20220523-p5anun.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed
