A petition signed by more than 3100 people has called on Maribyrnong council not to build an indoor sports stadium and carpark on Yarraville’s McIvor Reserve.
The council is proposing to build a six-court indoor sports centre and new recreation and leisure facilities among 31 proposed projects as part of the McIvor Reserve Draft Master Plan.
The draft plan was adopted by council in November, with a final report due to be tabled on March 21.
The Friends of McIvor Reserve are opposed to the indoor stadium and carpark.
A petition presented to council’s February 21 meeting requested council does not build the stadium and instead makes the preservation of open space a top priority and sets green space, open space and mature tree canopy targets.
The petition also called for council to advocate more strongly to the state government for assistance securing ’brown land’ sites for development of public infrastructure and form a community-based green and open space advisory committee to help it be informed in a meaningful and timely manner regarding community expectations on the use and preservation of green and open space assets.
A number of questions about the draft plan were also submitted to the council meeting, with chief executive Celia Haddock confirming she plans to meet with the Friends of McIvor Reserve on March 2.
Friends of McIvor Reserve spokesperson Miles Gilbert said the group was concerned a significant portion of open space would be used for the sports stadium.
“If we can convince the MCC that taking parkland is not an option for building development, it will have to work harder to secure brown field sites for indoor stadiums and other important infrastructure that does not require open space to fulfil its function,“ he said.
We will be encouraging the [Maribyrnong council] to share the details of a final masterplan as soon as possible. If it still contains a stadium and carparks we will have to assume they are not interested in delivering a sound outcome for the environment or the majority of residents who say they are not in support of it.“
Speaking at last week’s council meeting, Ms Haddock said there had been “a lot of consultation“ on the draft plan.
