The West Footscray Football Club and the Druids Cricket Club have called for Maribyrnong council to clarify when upgrade works outlined in the master plan for Shorten Reserve would begin, as water damage continues to mount.
An online petition calling for upgrades to Shorten Reserve and RecWest Footscray has attracted about 1180 signatures at the time of publication.
Footscray MP Katie Hall said the current state of the oval at Shorten Reserve was “horrendous“.
“These large, growing clubs deserve to have the best possible facilities, but unfortunately their home ground of Shorten Reserve has fallen into disrepair,“ she said.
“The oval is currently flooded and is probably the only oval in Victoria where you can choose to kick downhill or uphill.
“To the Roosters and the Druids, I am standing with you and I will get back to you on a plan for the future of Shorten Reserve.“
Maribyrnong council acting chief executive Laura-Jo Mellan said there has been a number of years of work on upgrades to the facilities and nearby locations, including a feasibility study in 2018, the adoption of the West Footscray Community Facilities Plan in 2020 and an environmental audit and risk assessments.
“Post those investigations, council developed schematic design for the RecWest Footscray facility and completed the master plan for Shorten Reserve, which provides for construction of a new oval, pavilion and open space improvements and an upgraded RecWest leisure centre,“ she said.
“Funding was allocated in this year’s budget to complete detailed design and any additional site investigations at Shorten Reserve and we anticipate the appointment of a principal design consultancy to progress this work shortly.
“Council recognises recent wet winters have exacerbated issues at Shorten Reserve specifically, and significant investment will be needed to support the redevelopment.
Ms Mellan said the council has been advocating for the state government to provide funding for the upgrades.
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