There should be no more flights out of Essendon Airport, according to former local MP and state planning minister Justin Madden.
"Aviation has had its day in [Essendon] and the profound impact it will continue to have will be worse because of the increased number of residents in and around the area," he said.
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Essendon Airport reopens after fatal crash
Flights resumed at the privately-operated airport today as investigations into Tuesday's plane crash continues. (Video courtesy: ABC News 24)
Now an infrastructure consultant with engineers Arup, Mr Madden said the existing commercial, residential and shopping precincts there should be developed.
He also tweeted that, although it was unlikely to happen, he wished Melbourne would look to Berlin - where a disused airport was turned into the city's largest park.
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My tip on Essendon Airport.....nothing will change. Nothing !
— Justin Madden (@JMadden2015) February 21, 2017
But my wish... that we were brave like Berlin... https://t.co/UAHWWAuCtH
Mr Madden retired as the MP for Essendon in 2014, and was an upper house minister for a decade before that. An architect who played 332 games for Essendon and Carlton, he grew up in Airport West and now lives in Essendon.
Planners, and Mr Madden, have questioned why the federal government continues to approve developments on airport land when the decisions are so crucial to major city transport operations.
"The federal government allows things to occur on that site … that the state government would never allow as soon as you cross the airport boundary," Mr Madden said.
But on Wednesday, both Premier Daniel Andrews and federal infrastructure minister Darren Chester made it clear that Essendon Airport would remain in operation. It was closed on Tuesday after the death of five people in a plane crash.
The plane hit the Essendon DFO shopping centre, built from 2002 on land near the end of the north-south airstrip.
The DFO centre will remain shut indefinitely, while airport flights will resume from 6am Thursday.
"There are some people who have wanted Essendon Airport to close for a very long time, and I don't think that's going to happen," Mr Andrews told the ABC.
And Mr Chester told ABC Radio's Jon Faine that Essendon Airport had "an important future as an airport. ... There [are] 50,000 movements per year into Essendon at the moment. [It] has an enviable safety record, despite the crash."
There were 53,862 flights in and out of Essendon last year, up from 53,700 in 2012. But there were 63,600 in 2013.
Six thousand people work at Essendon Fields, with 1000 employed in aviation.
Melbourne University planning expert Alan March said Essendon Airport's future needed to be assessed. "A number of other airports play a similar role to Essendon," he said.
Canberra alone should not be making planning decisions on Melbourne's airports, Associate Professor March said.
"It's highly unusual and impractical to have the state and local governments locked out of a proper system for strategic planning."
Marcus Diamond, a commercial pilot and the safety officer with the Australian Federation of Air Pilots, said there were serious concerns over development at Essendon.
The federation represents 6000 commercial pilots across Australia. He said it had concerns over development on land at both Essendon and Moorabbin airports.
Photo: Fairfax Archive
If the DFO centre had not been built next to the airfield "we think there could have been a very different outcome", Mr Diamond said. "[The pilot] could have begun his touchdown on grass a number of years ago".
Photos of the airfield from the 1940s show grass fields where Tuesday's accident took place. Photos from 1970 show that low structures had by then been built at the end of the runway.
He said the airport should not close to aviation: "It serves a very valuable service. What we are [saying] is let's not build any more."