City of Melbourne signs joint statement demanding action on Moonee Ponds Creek

The City of Melbourne has united with community advocates to call on the Victorian Government to unlock desperately needed land along Moonee Ponds Creek and support its ongoing revitalisation.

As part of a joint statement produced and signed by nine local organisations, the council has called on the government to “immediately release” the Moonee Ponds Creek Implementation Plan, which is now five years overdue.

The statement says that the release of the plan is essential for creating “a clear governance and funding pathway to deliver critical projects”, as well as reinstating the Moonee Ponds Creek Trail in Docklands.

The lower reaches of the trail in Docklands were closed in November 2020 to enable the construction of Sound Stage 6 at Docklands Studios, however the responsible authority Development Victoria (DV) has never made a commitment to reinstating it.

“Instead of increasing public open space along the creek, in recent years, the Victorian Government has reduced it,” the joint statement read.

“The closure to the public of the Docklands section of the Moonee Ponds Creek Trail represents a failure to plan in the interests of the communities that will grow ever more reliant on the creek for access to green space and connection.”

But further upstream from Docklands, there are even greater pressures facing emerging communities in the urban renewal areas of Macaulay and Arden, which are in desperate need of open space.

The council has been calling on the government to unlock land owned by VicTrack along the creek corridor to accommodate for the growing communities, with many residents already moving into new developments in Macaulay.

“The Moonee Ponds Creek is a critical waterway to support the sustainable development of three major urban renewal areas – Macaulay, Arden and Docklands,” the statement read.

“Built on low-lying flood-prone land, these precincts and the communities they house will only succeed if they are built to be flood resilient.”

“The residential population of these areas is expected to more than double to 44,000 by 2040. These communities must have access to public open space in the creek catchment – open space that plays a flood mitigation role in times of major flood.”

Outgoing Cr Rohan Leppert, who has been an outspoken critic of the government’s delays in helping progress revitalisation of the lower reaches of Moonee Ponds Creek, said “something’s got to give”.

“We’re trying something new [with the statement] because we can’t take no for an answer. This is far too important,” Cr Leppert said.

“All of that urban renewal is on flood-prone land, formerly swampy land at the bottom of the chain of ponds. None of this urban renewal will succeed unless land is reserved for the dual purposes of flood mitigation and public open space for a growing population.”

This isn’t the sort of thing that we can compromise on. Either the state government pursues flood-resilient planning that integrates with the floodplain, or these urban renewal projects will fail. At the end of the day, we are talking about human safety here.

“Council has tried for years to join up the different parts of the state government in a way that will result in coordinated management and planning of the lower reaches of the creek, but we have hit a brick wall.”

“That’s where the statement comes from. A collective and unified expression of what must happen – the bare minimum of what must happen – to make the lower reaches of the creek thrive and keep the tens of thousands of residents that will reside on its floodplains safe and healthy. It is the only way forward.”

The statement is endorsed by Chain of Ponds, Friends of Moonee Ponds Creek, Transition Town Kensington, Kensington Association, North & West Melbourne Association, Kensington Neighbourhood House, North Melbourne Language and Learning, the Moonee Valley Bicycle Users Group and Residents of 38 Albermarle St, Kensington. •