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The Annual General Meeting of the incorporation will be held in the Clubhouse of the Strathallan Golf Club located at 100 Main Drive Bundoora on Wednesday, 20th November. The meeting will commence at 7.30pm sharp and all are welcome.
In a surprising about face, the La trobe University has announced that it has offered the Strathallan Golf Club, the primary occupier of the area known as the Strathallan Open Space, a new 5 year contract. One can only imagine that this about-face is in direct response to the SSOSCC group's campaign but it does not resolve the overriding issue of ensuring that the area, forever, remains zoned as Public Park and Recreation (PPRZ) and maintained as public open space.
Discussions concerning the new lease between the university and the golf club are presently taking place.
The SSOSCC group is asking all of its colleagues to show their support for the campaign to Save the Strathallan Open Space by attending the Public Rally to held at 11.00am on Sunday, 17th June at 100 Main Drive Bundoora (see Home Page for more details). This rally will further publicise the campaign and again attempt to embarass the La trobe University for their actions in relation to this vital community asset that they intend to develop or sell at an unrealistic amount.
See Newsletter page for the latest newsletter, No. 3, issued March 2018. This provides a summary of the responses received from the respective candidates contesting the Batman By-election following Owen MacDonalds request for a statement of their position regarding the university's attempts to sell the strathallan open space at a the price of $25 million. A copy of this statement can be viewed by clicking here.
In February 2018, the group submitted to the Valuer General's office, a lengthy submission, challenging the objectivity and validity of the most recent and historical valuations of the Strathallan Open Space undertaken by the Valuer General's office. Copies of this submission have also been forwarded to other key people such as the Hon. Colin Brooks (local MP for Bundoora), Chancellor La Trobe University, Hon. Lily D'Ambrosio (Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change), Mayors of Darebin CC and Banyule CC and the Strathallan Golf Club Inc. The latter who contributed much of the detail associated with the submission.
The following clip from the Preston Leader (18th October 2017) sums up the university's latest strategy in its greedy attempt to have a windfall out of the sale of the land occupied by the Strathallan Golf Course that is currently zoned as public open space and will retain that zoning if acquired by the Darebin City Council.
At long last there has been a break-through in the SSOCC campaign to Save the Strathallan Open Space. The SSOSCC group and the Strathallan Golf Club have been, unofficially, advised that the La trobe University have abandoned their plans to develop the site, primarily as a residential estate and have begun negotiations with the Darebin City Council for a "private treaty sale" of the site. (This has subsequently been substantiated by a Press release posted on La Trobe's official web site to which a link appears below). The Darebin City Council have already indicated via a series of council resolutions to maintain the site as public open space in its current form and had already commenced investigations in to how the site could be compulsorily acquired. Newspaper articles announcing this latest action have already appeared in the press (Herald-Sun, Thursday 24th August and the Preston Leader). This type of sale would avoid the costly, drawn out process of a compulsory acquisition.
Prof Dewar, La Trobe University Vice Chancellor is quoted as stating "such an agreement would enable the council to retain open space for the community and at the same time support the university's desire to release landholdings so we can focus on our core educational activities". How things change!!!
Darebin Mayor, Kim Le Cerf has said the council would come to the table and stated that "we have expressed the desire for this land to remain open space and we're willing to look at any option that will make it happen".
Local member, Colin Brooks, a strong and key supporter of the campaign is quoted as saying "the darebin Council should consider using their open space reserves fund and or the Darebin Nature trust, recently established by council, to purchase the land".
Although the press articles mention a price of $50 million dollars, this is unsubstantiated and the real value assessed at its current zoning and usage is closer to a figure of its rateable value that is $2.1 million. It is understood that the Victorian Valuer-General will begin an assessment and recommend a price within the next four weeks.
We await, with anticiapted breathe for further progress along this line that will see the Strathallan Open Space site remain, forever, as public open space.
Click here to link to the official press release on the La Trobe University's web site.
The following newspaper article appeared in the Diamond Valley Leader on the 15th August following the release of the University's plans for the Strathallan Open Space.
The following article appeared in the Diamond Valley Leader on the 2nd August 2017. This is the first public announcement of what the University's plans for the Strathallan Open Space, are! Yet, the community consultations have just began. Am I missing something or are the consultations merely a front and a sham as the university has already made up its mind as they have already told the golf club that the retention of the golf course is not an option! All this, yet the land's zoning still remains as Public Park and Recreation (PPRZ). Its bewildering!!
At the most recent Darebin City Council meeting of the 17th July 2017, the gallery was once again filled to capacity by supporters of the Save Strathallan Open Space campaign.
John Berriman representing the SSOSCC group and Geoff Blackwood representing the Strathallan Golf Club made submissions to the council on the matter of retaining the existing zoning and usage of the Strathallan Open Space.
The council once again passed a resolution in support of this campaign which included action to request the relevant State ministers to undertake a bio-diversity study and a value assessment of the land with an objective to compulsorily acquiring the land. Details of this resolution are included on this web site under the Recent Events page.
At the Darebin City Council meeting of the 19th June 2017 it was pleasing to see a packed house with over 60 people in the gallery, most of which were there to hear and question the discussion paper submitted to council on the matter of the protection of the area of land known as the Strathallan Open Space.
Several people, representing the SSOSCC, Strathallan Golf Club, Gresswell Grange Estate residents, Springthorpe Estate residents and other interested parties made written and oral submissions in support of the previous council meeting motion that supported the retention of the existing zoning and usage of this open space area.
The Council passed another motion in support of this. Details of this motion can be viewed on this web site under the Recent Events page.
Following the Darebin City Council meeting mentioned above, the following article appeared in the Preston Leader.
Shortly after the above article appeared, the following article that is also relevant but takes a broader look at the future of golf in Victoria, appeared in the Herald-Sun on saturday, 1st July 2017.
