Moonee Valley Racecourse redevelopment plans far from home straight
A MAJOR redevelopment plan for Moonee Valley Racecourse is far from on the home straight with planning hurdles delaying its progress.
Moonee Valley Racing Club chief executive Michael Browell said work on an integrated transport plan had been holding up the project, but he was optimistic the report would be completed within the next fortnight.
The club wants to build 2000 new dwellings, including apartment towers reaching 20 storeys, to fund a new grandstand.
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“It’s going very slowly but hopefully once we can get past this one issue and we can get this integrated transport plan locked away, hopefully we can see it accelerate,” Mr Browell said.
He said it had taken some time for all parties, including VicRoads and Public Transport Victoria, to agree on the traffic calculations of the expected 4000 new residents to move on site.
The State Government requires traffic management studies to show that the road network can cope with the additional residents.
The club intends on submitting planning applications for the northwest precinct of the development first, which includes 28 townhouses and up to 400 apartments.
The rest of the development would require closing the racetrack and demolishing the grandstand, which the club is aiming to start after the 100th Cox Plate in 2020.
Mayor Andrea Surace said the council would have to analyse the integrated transport plan and agree on what mitigation measures would be required to minimise the impact of the development on the surrounding area.