FCA NEWS
See "Catalysts for Change" below
Council approves Village Streetscape
On Monday 12 December 2011, the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council voted to approve the proposed Flinders village streetscape plans. The result overall fully takes into account the submissions made by the Flinders community on the original plans developed by the Shire’s consultants and exhibited to the community for comment.
The key points that will be of interest to FCA members are:
1. The service road in front of the General Store will NOT be used as the east-west thoroughfare and will be retained as a service road apart from safety improvments, eg by closing off the entrance to the service road from Norman Street and providing a left turn entry from Cook Street approximately opposite to David Wright’s studio.
2. A traffic island will be built in front of the Community Hall to provide an enclosed parking area there for buses, mobile library etc., Vehicles will park in an area between the new island and the kerb in front of the Community Hall.
3. Two buttresses will be built out from the corners of Norman Street to further assist direct traffic at this intersection and avoid confusion between the through road and the service road..
4. Three pedestrian crossings will be built across Cook Street. One in front of the General Store, one at the mid-town park and one between the Community Hall and the Village Bakery Café.
5. Speed limit in the village will be lowered to 50kmh.
6. Approval has been given in principle for improvements to the village parks and Community Hall with directions that the community must be involved in the decision process at all stages.
7. Extra parking will be created in Norman Street, on both sides of Cook Street, with angle parking being replaced by 90 degree nose to kerb parking. Additional spaces must take account of the existing Norfolk pines.
MPS Strategic Planner, Russell Smith, thanked members of the Flinders community for their feedback and the assistance provided throughout the process of creating the plan. He supports the result achieved as a good framework for Flinders future development in the area covered by the study, and will aid prevention of ad hoc type works whilst increasing the safety and useability of the village centre. For your reference, CLICK HERE for links to the Plan and background documents on the Shire’s web
"The evolution of Flinders - The catalysts that change a town"
By Peter Hall, President, FCA
Looking back in time, to observe events that happened, can be a useful way of foreseeing the likely future. History is a great teacher.
When we look at Flinders today we see a village in a phase of considerable change and many are concerned and perplexed asking “what has become of our village” and “we don't want Flinders to become another Sorrento”. But if we look back in time we can see Flinders has been evolving slowly but surely over some 200 years. It really all started in 1803.
Catalyst one
Although sealers had been operating in the area before 1803 it was in October of that year Lt-Governor John Collins arrived from Sydney to establish a settlement in the great bay first discovered by John Murray on the “Lady Nelson” on 15th February,1802. Matthew Flinders on HMS Investigator sailed in 10 weeks later. Collins and his party landed at what is known as Sullivans Bay a little way down the bay from what is now Sorrento. A member of the party, Lt. James Tuckey, was the first to explore the Flinders area. That settlement which they named Hobart, failed, but not to be outdone they sailed on to Tasmania and founded a colony there and named that Hobart Town. When we look back it was in fact the first change that happened in this part of Australia, for prior to that the land had not been disturbed for thousands of years being the exclusive territory of the Aborigines of the area, the Bunurong people. But the first footprint of a European in what is now Victoria signalled great change.
Catalyst two
After John Batman, John Pascoe Fawkner and others settled Melbourne, settlers pushed inland and Charles and Frederick Manton were the first to be granted a lease on part of the Peninsula which covered most of the Flinders and Shoreham areas. In 1846 one Henry Tuck squatted on part of Manton's Creek Run, and some years later was able to purchase land with money he made on the goldfields.. He was to undertake logging and farming which signalled the arrival of the next great change to the area, the development of a community of farmers. More or less at the same time others arrived in the area and developed a fledgling fishing industry and soon cottages started to be built in the cove under the western head of the entrance to the bay. And so Kennons Cove evolved but meantime a village was appearing on the hill behind the cove and was to become known as Flinders.
Catalyst three
Flinders township was first surveyed and town allotments sold in 1866. The Cable Station was constructed in 1869 – a major development. Personnel of the telegraph station made up a substantial section of the community until the 1930s. As more people settled the area the need for community buildings arose and so in 1889 the first hotel was built. ( It burned down in 1926 and was rebuilt in 1928 to more or less what we see today). This signalled the next great change for the hotel became the focal point for people in the immediate hinterland and probably inadvertently Flinders became a “service centre”. To further meet the needs of the local population a Mechanics Institute hall followed soon after. In the period 1886 to 1923 the famous guesthouses of Flinders were built. Katoomba at 47 King St., in 1886, Oaklands next door to Bass Lodge in 1890, Flinders House in Cove Lane in 1891, St. Andrews in Bass St next to the bowling club in 1907, and Hiawatha next to Katoomba in 1923. Thus the beginnings of the tourist industry was were established. Another seemingly innocuous arrival was a little hut built out on the end of West Head in 1890 for Coastal Command as an observation point for the expected arrival of the Russians. More of this later.
Catalyst four
Then came probably the greatest catalyst of change of all, the arrival of the motor car. As the performance and practicality of the car rapidly improved, people began travelling further and further. The earliest public road service was by coach to Bittern, Hastings and Dromana, carrying both passengers and mail. By 1889 the railway had been extended to Stony Point and horse and carriage services were available between Bittern station and Flinders. A service car was operating by 1910 offering privately owned vehicle road services to railway stations and to Melbourne. The idea of a day in the countryside became a reality and Melbourne people soon learned of “the town at the end of the track” that had a hotel where one could stay overnight and be assured of “a good feed of fresh local produce and fish from the sea”. And so, the tourist industry evolved - but at that time probably no-one recognised that it would become a bigger economic driver than the established agriculture industry. At the height of the boom it is said there were over 350 beds available in Flinders so our village at that time was at the peak of its activity and ability to handle the influx of visitors and holiday makers, perhaps more so than the present day.
Catalyst five
Then the Great Depression hit, followed by WW2 and Flinders and the hinterland reverted to their grass roots of fishing, orchards and farming. In the two decades following the end of the war, opportunities were limited as people slowly rebuilt an economy that had been decimated by the traumatic events of the 1930s through to the late 40's. It really wasn't until the late 50s and early 60s that motor cars, with the availability post-war to obtain petrol started to become more affordable in a great variety of makes and vintages and so once again there was a trickle of people coming to Flinders. Many of those new arrivals started to buy up blocks of land on which to build the next great catalyst of change, the beachside shack or weekender. All over Australia, up and down all the coastlines, the revered shack was built and Flinders was no exception. A motel was built around the existing service station in about 1980. The village had become so busy at weekends and in school holidays that locals had to book a seat at the Flinders pub on Saturday night if they wanted to eat out. The Pub was so well known for its fresh seafood that people came from far and wide; there was no fine dining then, just simple, excellent food.
Meanwhile, that little hut mentioned earlier out on West Head was taken over from the Army by the Navy and in 1959 the Gunnery school was built and commissioned. This really cemented Flinders as a recognised “service centre”, embedded in today’s State Planning laws, which means Flinders is deemed a commercial activity centre.
Catalyst six
Then what happened? To service this increasing tourist population the famous Flinders general store – otherwise known as “The House of Commons” – was expanded in the early 1990s. What was originally a single-fronted shop first established in 1868 by Anne Brent, overnight became the equivalent of 3 single-fronted shops. Meantime the “Satchwell” complex of shops on the corner opposite the pub had also been built, later followed by the 2-storey building at 36 Cook St., housing 3 shops and an upstairs apartment. Suddenly the business and commercial centre of the village took a quantum leap forward.
Catalyst seven
However there was one great factor constraining further significant development and of course that was the lack of a sewerage system. Septic tanks had their limitations and those already operating in the town were starting to cause some serious environmental concerns. But in 2009 that “handbrake” was released with the arrival of the sewerage scheme and, pardon the pun, the floodgates opened. One huge catalyst for change.
It was at that time the Flinders Residents and Ratepayers Association (now called the Flinders Community Association) realised that with the amalgamation of the Mornington, Flinders and Hastings councils the individual local safeguards against unsympathetic development had been removed. There was no Development Design Overlay in existence for the centre part of the village, nor for the commercial centre. This meant there was nothing to prevent developers from building almost anything they wanted. The side by side endless shopping strips of Sorrento and elsewhere and the depressing continuous urban sprawl of so much of the western side of the Peninsula along the bay to Melbourne became a real possibility. The danger was even more real because of the unusual precedents of the pub and the motel already existing and constructed in what is known as a residential zone, or Rescode1. But that had taken place back in the days when there were no Statewide planning laws (only introduced in the 1990s) and when everything was approved on a local basis and often, it is said, on a nod and a wink.
Today we have DDO14 and the “Flinders village design guidelines” in place protecting the village from inappropriate or over-development, with 41 and 43 Cook St approved before the DDO came into effect. But where to from here? What will be the next great catalyst of change? Again, we turn to history.
All the changes to Flinders have been driven by the steady increase in the numbers of people coming to this wonderful part of the world, and who can blame them? But with the projected exponential increase of Melbourne's population, combined with the prospect of Hastings being developed into Melbourne's main commercial shipping port, the threat of more and more housing on the Peninsula must be recognised. Recently we have seen the approval of a multi-unit development right in the residential heart of the village on a most disconcerting VCAT interpretation of the current planning laws. With greater residential housing comes also the need for more commercial services. The demands of an increasing population are relentless.
The great challenge in the future for us all is how to protect the character of our villages and the Green Wedge countryside that makes the Peninsula so special. If we don't want Flinders to expand its borders out into the countryside then the challenge is to manage increased housing density within. Do we sub-divide blocks of township land? Do we knock down houses and build multi-unit dwellings? These same concerns face our neighbouring coastal villages too. Is this best done by far-sighted planning and the establishment of a “Master Plan” to guide future developments? Or should existing planning laws be tightened up and made more prescriptive, less open to interpretation?
This is the challenge ahead for all our communities and the FCA is committed to working with them in a common cause; to retain the character and quality of life on the Peninsula and for Flinders residents and visitors alike, while ensuring that Flinders continues to develop as a vibrant and attractive place for all to enjoy.
In the end people are the final authority, for it is we who elect people to govern us at the local government level, State or even at Federal. Are we going to exercise that authority with care and intelligence or just sit back and complain about who runs the place? We elect our representatives, our Councillors, in the expectation that our needs and aspirations will be pursued and championed in Council meetings and that the Shire officers will carry out those directions. However, if we don't exercise our authority and just leave it to others, thinking in the good ol' Aussie way that “she'll be right mate” then we have nobody but ourselves to blame when we wake up one morning to discover our world collapsing around us.
Are you prepared to be the final catalyst to control what happens in your neighbourhood? If you want to help make a difference, if you are really concerned about the future and the town you live in, then speak up. Make a noise, write to your Councillor, send a letter to the local newspaper, support your local Community association - stand for Council! Just because a certain law says this or that does not mean it's a good law; if it needs to be changed then we must work hard to get it changed, for in a democracy laws are made for the benefit of the people – or at least that is the theory. People must ensure that it is what actually occurs. Politicians and Governments are merely our servants. As Robespierre, at the time of the French revolution, said “I cannot govern if I cannot keep up with the people”.
December 2011
Shorebirds arrive in Flinders
There are other creatures besides we humans who think that Flinders is a great place to be, particularly in the warmer months!
Come September each year the Ruddy Turnstones and Red-necked Stints start arriving from the northern hemisphere. These little birds weighing less than 200 grams make the astonishing 27,000km round trip every year from their breeding grounds in the Siberian tundra to Australia’s south eastern shores. The Ruddy Turnstones prefer a rocky, weedy shore so Flinders fits the bill perfectly. They are very site faithful often returning to the same non-breeding site for many years. Red-necked Stints are not so particular and can be found on many of our beaches during the summer.
The numbers of Ruddy Turnstones have declined in recent years and the Victorian Wader Study Group ( VWSG) has been conducting research which records their migration route and breeding areas. This is done with the use of a light sensitive device called a geo-locator which weighs less than a gram and is attached to their leg.
The VWSG is an independent group of volunteers led by Dr. Clive Minton. We have an international reputation publishing our results in peer-reviewed journals.
We are seeking financial assistance in the form of sponsorship. We will put your name to one of the geo-locators and you can follow your bird on its migration.
We also band birds, including some other species of shorebirds, in King Island, South Australia and Barwon Heads.
If you would like to be involved in supporting this exciting work I would love to discuss it with you.
Penny Johns
Ph. 5989 0792
Email: pennyjohns@hotmail.com
Zig Inge buys Motel
It is a done deal, as we understand it. The Inge family have purchased the motel adjoining their popular Flinders Hotel. Interesting times with major reconstruction already underway at the pub to expand convention facilities and its room capacity.
It appears the Inges are committed in a large way to our community, as last year Zig bought the famed Mornington Park property. (August 2011)
We had a good turnup at our May 2011 FCA meeting. Chaired by Neville Wale, in the absence of President Peter Hall, the meeting in Flinders Hall heard that the MPS Council has commenced its response concerning the future of Flinders as to parks, traffic, parking, amenities etc
The meeting heard that VicRoads is unimpressed with the proposal to dispense with the service road outside the General Store; watch this site for more news about the future of Central Flinders. We also heard that the Cargo Shed renovation is proceeding apace at a cost of $85,000 after consultancy fees!
Peter Chew addressed the meeting, reporting on a recent seminar about the health of Western Port Bay - did you know that the colony on Seal Rocks is the biggest Australian Fur Seal colony in the world (about 20,000 strong)? And the sea-grasses have expanded since the 1970s? See Peter's summary notes
WE HAVE APPEARED BEFORE VCAT - Challenging the latest Cipriani development proposal: the hearing was on 22/23 August 2011 and now we await the decision
Thank you for your financial assistance and overwhelming moral support to date over our important challenge to the proposed Cipriani Wood Street development.
The principle behind our opposition is a simple one. The first application for a so-called Retirement Village was rejected by VCAT on a number of grounds, including its inappropriate size.
We say that the development proposal is simply a means of getting as many flats on the site as they can - with not one service person living on the premises.
The facilities are not about looking after the elderly and retired, but making as much money as possible.
The Mornington Shire planners joined us at VCAT on Monday and Tuesday, August 22 and 23, in opposing construction of the huge complex. The decision is expected to be handed down after about four weeks.
Interestingly, the two who will determine what, if anything, can be built are John Bennett (chairman) and Michael Reid who was the chair when the last application before VCAT was refused.
Through our joint action, the development has already been reduced from 43 apartments to 33 - and hopefully it will now be rejected outright, or reduced further. President Peter Hall and Past President Neville Wale attended the two days and advised the FCA's legal representative, Ms Joanne Lardner - who was excellent.
VALE - PETER CHEW. It is with great sadness that we report that Peter Chew died suddenly on 6 August 2011. Peter has been a very active member of the FCA for a number of years. His forthright and stimulating approach enlivened many of our debates about policy issues, and he will be much missed. He was an enthusiastic member of our Sustainability Group. We extend our deepest sympathy to Judith and the Chew family.
VALE - Dr Fred Euhlin
It is with great sadness that we record the passing of Dr Fred (Freddy) Euhlin on 1 December 2010. Freddy was a great contributor to the Flinders Community, and was a particularly passionate and active advocate for ‘appropriate planning controls and development’ in his beloved Flinders Village. He selflessly contributed generously to the funding some of the early VCAT hearings necessary to bring attention to the Mornington Peninsula Shire, the wider community, and developers of the threat from overdevelopment to the character of Flinders.
In the words of his colleagues in his medical practice – Freddy was loved by his patients and adored by the staff. He was greatly liked and respected by the many he always made the effort to engage with on his regular jaunts around the village. We will miss him greatly.
| Memories from olde Flinders and News of Boris the Bull (from Past President, Neil Hallam) When I first moved to Flinders about 30 years ago, Mr. and Mrs Frank Commons ran the general store; you could buy a pound of 2 inch nails, or a handful of 22 ammunition if you needed to pot off a fox or two. You dared not to interrupt Olive, whose speciality in the store seemed to be the newspapers and magazines. Olive was always involved in detailed discussions with locals on a huge range of topics. The pre-school centre was small and at the end of the morning in summer, the children and (usually) mothers would meet at Shoreham beach with a bottle of white wine and a cold chicken or two. There was little evidence of "slipping, slopping or slapping". A wonderful Greek family made the best fish and chips and pickled octopus in what later became Safi Balu. The Flinders Community Association (FCA), as it has now become, consisted of a small group of individuals meeting monthly in the hall, hotel, or wherever; dealing with the same sort of impositions on Flinders that are still going on today. We argued at VCAT, raged at council meetings and Flinders became known as the Westernport "Mouse that Roared". So I suppose things haven't changed all that much, certainly in terms of our interactions with external bodies, even if the physical face of (especially) Cook St. has been "modified". We used to have a petrol station, a greengrocer, a butcher, a bank, but now progress has removed all that. However we now have medical and dental facilities and an upgraded hotel, a classy chocolate shop, boutiques , antique outlets, a modern deli section equal to Harrods in London, in the General Store, and a bounding tourist industry that makes the local economy thrive. The FCA is in a fine numerical/financial condition and apart from the usual and ongoing impositions that threaten the very environment that make Flinders an attractive place to live in and to visit, we move along. Some of you will remember stories about Boris the Bull, who I had to hand rear as his mother died in childbirth. Boris became reasonably well known in Flinders. As a young calf acting like a vegetarian dog he walked into the house one day in search of something more "exotic" to eat. He then proceeded to consume the Association's cheque and deposit books. It took some time for Boris to finally make a deposit himself, but the picture of him now, gives an idea of how the association has grown since those simpler times. Happy New Year, Flinders |
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FLINDERS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
NEWS UPDATE - NOVEMBER 2010
Members are urged to regularly check out the FCA web page for the latest local news and details of Flinders events and happenings at http://www.flindersvillage.com.au
Current Items covered include:
• The upcoming Association AGM and the inaugural FCA Annual Dinner 22 January.
• The Flinders Design Study Report which was presented by the Consultants to the 100 members at the meeting on October 23. Check the notice board in the General Store window for the proposals from the Shire's consultants for the heart of Flinders. Public comments should be sent to Council by 20 December.
(Members can also obtain full details and drawings of what is being proposed at the shire website at www.mornpen.vic.gov.au and follow the links from “On Exhibition” to “Draft plans and policies” to “Flinders Village Streetscape Design Framework”)
• New Application by Cipriani for another huge “Retirement Living Development”
• Approval for a slightly reduced Red Hill Bakery development in Cook Street.
• Pier "improvements" underway – due for completion March –April 2011
• Sustainability issues and proposals
• MPS Council proposals for caravan parks on the Mornington Peninsula in Green Wedge zones
• Reports from the Historical Society, the Art Show committee etc.
Please remember - our web page is your vehicle to keep up with the local news and obtain detailed reports of the FCA's current and future activities and proposals.
All members are welcome to attend FCA meetings on the third Wednesday of each month at 7.30 p.m. at the Flinders Pre-School Centre in Bass St.
FLINDERS COMMUNITY CONSULTATION
Some 120 people came to the Flinders Hall to put forward their thoughts on the future of our village at the first consultation (see below for background to the event). Here are a couple of pictures of some of those attending.
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| Peter Hall, plus friend | President Neville Wale consults |
The long-anticipated Flinders design study, commissioned by the Planning department at the Mornington Peninsula Shire (MPS), staged its "community consultation" at the Village Hall on Saturday afternoon, August 28. The FCA conducted a seperate survey on issues of concern to Flinders residents and visitors.
Michael Smith and Associates - Landscape Architects and Urban Design - presented in graphic form its preliminary ideas for the future of our village. It used the expertise of the Traffic Group as subconsultant on traffic issues which formed part of the presentation.
The FCA, residents and visitors filled in a detailed questionnaire which will be analysed by the study group trying to determine what we want of Flinders in the future from a planning perspective.
Then, on Saturday, October 23 the First Draft will be given us for comment and a six-week submission period will be allowed for formal written presentations so that the Council should be in a position to act on the report (and submissions) at its February meeting next year.
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| Flinders - as we love it |
It is hard to underestimate the importance of this process and its potential to establish priorities for landscaping, for issues such as traffic flow and speed limits, pedestrian crossings, on all matters raised in the 10-year plan proposed by local architect Bruce Allen for the Flinders Community Association - which, incidentally, it may be worth revisiting to recall what he put forward. A copy of it is in the village guidelines document.
Everything was and is up for discussion - roundabouts, lavatories in the park, a median strip, how to best use the land which is beside the Village Store and owned by the Council, a new flagpole, barbecues, future tree planting programmes etc. etc.
These and other matters are referred to in the minutes of the FCA meetings recorded under the FCA heading at the top of this page.
The Year 2009 has been in many ways a water-shed year for Flinders in Planning terms. We have finally achieved planning protection for the Flinders village centre and achieved two significant victories in VCAT.
In the middle of the year the Association Committee recognised that most people when speaking of the Association shortened its name. The formal change from “Residents and Ratepayers” was agreed at a general meeting so that the Association could be seen as involved with the broader community, not just residents and ratepayers.
To increase the effectiveness of the Association and involve a wider range of interests and skills that exist in our community the Committee is in process of developing a sub-committee structure to work on specific tasks and projects. Currently we have the Flinders Environs Development Advisory Panel, Communications, Sustainability, Administration and Annual Dinner committees and we intend to have more groups as our program expands. There is an open invitation to all members of our community to participate in the Association and join any of the project sub-committees.
During the year we welcomed our new councillor Cr Frank Martin. He is committed to ensure good lines of communication between Council and community groups. The Association representatives have attended the regular meetings he has arranged with community groups in the Red Hill ward.
Planning Issues
You will recall that the Flinders, Cook Street, Amendment 101 was approved as an interim DDO in July 2008 by Minister for Planning and at the start of last year the Amendment was on formal public exhibition. Since then your Association has made submissions to the expert independent panel appointed by the Minister to hear submissions to AM 101. It has also appeared before VCAT for 37 Cook Street (Red Hill Bakers) and the 163-165 Wood Street (Cipriani’s Retirement proposal) and we are pleased to report successful outcomes in these matters.
The AM101 Panel recognised the special character of Flinders Village and recommended adoption of a revised version of DDO14, and various modifications of HO333 covering the eastern end og the village centre.
The Panel commented that it:
“was impressed with the understanding and professionalism of the participants in the planning process relating to Amendment C101. The Amendment generated a healthy diversity of opinions, and all submitters and participants at the hearings showed patience and goodwill. Flinders is a special place, and the Amendment will assist in protecting and enhancing its character.”
The Panel also proposed a Statement of Significance for the Village Centre noting that Flinders: “possesses many of the characteristics typical of a small Australian colonial?era town. It has a rectilinear plan, straight streets with wide landscaped verges, regular allotments lining those streets, and spaces for public and civic functions.
Development in Cook Street between Stokes and Wood Streets is characterised by:
• a high proportion of landscaped open space;
• a domestic, predominantly single storey scale of construction;
• buildings which combine residential, commercial, and public uses; and
• development which engages with the public realm.
as “dominant and distinctive features of the Flinders Village Centre.”
The Panel also noted:
“There are substantial areas of undeveloped land on Cook Street that provide an opportunity for new development to reflect the characteristics listed above. Modern architectural design, that is contextual in its visual relationship to its surroundings and has high design qualities, is consistent with this Statement.”
Council has adopted Amendment 101 with the Panel recommendations and the sent the Scheme off to the Department of Planning and Community Development for the Minister’s approval. Meanwhile the interim control has been extended to June 2010.
In July your team appeared before Mr Michael Reed in VCAT to contest the application for an 80 seat restaurant and 8 residential units at 37 Cook Street. The application was rejected by VCAT. However a new application for much the same development is currently before Council.
In September the team again appeared before Mr Michael Reed and Ms Jane Homewood in VCAT this time in relation to the application for Cipriani’s retirement village involving 45 flats and 90 underground car spaces. On this occasion the Association engaged Mr James Holdsworth to give expert planning and architectural evidence. This appeal was also rejected by VCAT.
That both appeals were rejected by the Tribunal was due in no small measure to the outstanding work of Council officers, excellent legal counsel engaged by Mornington Peninsula Shire and to the time and effort put in to the case by the many submitters. The Association gratefully acknowledges the significant assistance given by Bruce Allen and members of the Flinders community who shared their expertise with the team. Compared with the Shoreham community the Association has been frugal in the application of funds derived principally from your subscriptions.
However the anticipated new planning applications for places such as the Motel and the Hotel will mean that we will need additional funding. Indeed the recent publicity in both Council’s Peninsula News and local press about Caravan Parks and developments in the “Green Wedge” is another warning of the need for vigilance. Initiatives such as the Annual Fund raising dinner will be necessary to fund project proposals as well as to ensure adequate representation in the future.
Town Improvement Projects
The design proposals prepared by Bruce Allen (presented at a previous AGM) have been invaluable in our thinking about the DDO and planning for the Cook Street village centre. We are now moving to an implementation phase in which Council is about to prepare a consultant brief to further develop and refine these proposals. Peter Hall will discuss these initiatives shortly. This process will provide opportunities for community participations and will result in a long term commitment to projects that will significantly benefit our village and community.
Other Sub-Committees Achievements
The Communications Committee has set up the Flinders Community Website, flindersvillage.com . The site is achieving its purpose of improving communications with members of the Association and the Flinders community. A Pay Pal facility for receiving subscriptions on line has also been installed. It is also hoped that groups such as the Churches, sports clubs, the Art Show and others will utilize the site to let people know about their activities. A special membership category has been introduced for local businesses which use the site. The Association is indebted to the Communications Committee Ranald Macdonald and Peter Monie particularly and to Ed Wright and James Kelly for their expertise in establishing the site. Ranald Macdonald give us an outline of the Website shortly.
The Sustainability Committee has been active in promoting initiatives particularly in areas of water conservation and power savings. During the year Mr Rolf Freeman from Mornington Peninsula Shire addressed us outlining Council program of Green Loans to be introduced to help households. Council has established a group purchase scheme to assist residents with the purchase of solar hot water and rainwater tanks. Council also has a list of preferred suppliers for the group-buy scheme and the program is continuing. We hope you will consider one or both of these for installation at your place in Flinders. There are rebates available which are particularly attractive for the solar hot water option. You can ring the Council on 1300 850 600 to register your details and mention the Group Buy Scheme. (THERE ARE SOME LEAFLETS ABOUT THIS AT BACK OF HALL).
For those of you with PV solar cells connected to the grid, Victoria has introduced a feed-in tariff of about 60 cents per kw hour. You should contact your electricity retailer to make sure you receive at least this rate and change your retailer if you do not. We will shortly be putting a link on our website to a piece of independent research which compares the major Victorian electricity retailer’s terms and conditions for feed-in tariffs.
The Association has also supported the initiative of the Flinders Golf Club in capturing storm water from the King Street drainage catchment. The Association wrote to Melbourne Water suggesting a similar scheme for the Dodd’s creek catchment which would yield significant volumes of water that could be stored and used on town parks and gardens. Currently discussions are in hand with the Kindergarten on possible installation of PV cells as a sustainability demonstration project.
Other projects and plans
Improvement of footpaths and pedestrian pathways in Flinders is a the long standing concern of the Association. During the year the possibility of a crossing of Dodds Creek was again raised by the sale of a house at the southern end of Spindrift Ave. The creation of a pathway along the northern escarpment of Dodds Creek to the beach with an all weather bridge crossing to the Cove Lane pathway was suggested. Although there has been discussion with Council no significant progress can be reported to date. Other concerns have been raised about the closure of traditional access ways such as to the Golf course.
The redevelopment of Flinders pier appears to be on hold because of budgetary constraints in Parks Victoria. We have been advised that the pier may not in as bad a condition as has been initially suggested by the study some years ago.
The historic pier shed, subject of a Heritage Council grant 3 years ago, has continued to decline despite assurances from Council officers that remedial works would soon begin. It has to be acknowledged that the state funds provided will not be sufficient to restore the shed but it is the only building in Flinders on the State Heritage Register and is a building of historic significance. It should not be allowed to be demolished by neglect.
The Association has supported an initiative by residents of Bass Street to underground the power lines at the eastern end of Bass Street. An approach has be made to the Navy regarding the power lines on the road to the gunnery school. Unfortunately this is on hold as funding was not provided as part of the gunnery rebuilding project. The Associations other ambition, to see the powerlines in the village centre go underground, has not progressed beyond some preliminary discussions.
Friends of Flinders Coast Line
The Association strongly supports the work of the Friends Group in conjunction with Parks Victoria and Council. The Association acknowledges the untiring efforts of the volunteers and Gladys Aarons in particular and I wish to thank her and the support team on behalf of our community. I am pleased to report that the group has continues to receive grants from Melbourne Water and the Commonwealth environmental programs to support its work. The Association asks your active participation just two mornings a month in the restoration work being undertaken at Dodds Creek (Cove lane) and at the Ocean Beach foreshore.
Membership
To be an effective organisation a solid membership base is essential and I am pleased to report that membership is growing steadily. We can now claim a membership in excess of 300 and thus to represent the Flinders community. We need you, our members, to talk to your neighbours and encourage them to join your Association and support it by active participation in its meetings and programs.
Conclusion
I wish to thank the dozen or so Association members who regularly attend our monthly meetings - held on the third Wednesday of the month at 7.30 pm throughout the year in Flinders Pre School – Bass Street. The meetings are open to everyone and I would urge anyone interested to come along. Quarterly general meetings are held in this Hall at weekends. These are to enable community members with work commitments elsewhere during the week to have a say in the Association activities.
I would also thank John Durham and the Post Office staff for their help in our newsletter mail outs throughout the year. Thanks are also due to all those who have assisted in preparation and setting up for today’s AGM particularly Graham Lewis. I would personally thank Mark Holland, Vice President, John Kaye, Secretary and Gladys Aarons Treasurer, for their support and assistance to me during 2009. Unfortunately both Gladys and John have stepped down from their positions on the Committee and on your behalf I would thank them both for their long and patient service to our Community.
Neville Wale
President, Flinders Community Association
30 January 2010
PLANS FOR CARAVAN PARKS IN MORNINGTON PENINSULA GREEN WEDGE ZONES
Mornington Peninsula Shire recently placed Amendment C133 to its Planning Scheme on public exhibition. It proposes to regulate Caravan Parks in the Green Wedge zones. Currently there are no policy guidelines to assist Council consideration of any permit applications in the rural areas of the Shire.
Your Association submission to the Shire supports the need for policy guidelines but says that the Policy needs strengthening and clarification. In particular it expresses concern that the proposed decision guidelines are inadequate.
Existing rural uses that make up the valued Green Wedge landscapes of the Mornington Peninsula must be protected. The policy clauses, however, set out to promote tourism and caravan parks in Green Wedge areas further than 2 Km from defined urban areas.
Under the proposed Amendment, the Council is only required to consider three things: contribution to tourism; impact on flora and fauna; and the visitor capacity of nearby tourist facilities.
The need to ensure that farming is able to operate without hindrance from tourist attractions and caravan park residents is ignored - indeed the policy proposes the opposite. Nowhere is there recognition that the policy will encourage enclaves of 300-400 people in what are essentially rural areas. These enclaves will inevitably demand urban services and infrastructure and we may well see the emergence of more resort development proposals like the one only recently contested and discouraged near Greens Bush.
Submissions to Council closed on 29th March, 2010 – Amendment C133 may be viewed on the website www.mornpen.vic.gov.au”