About SOGS
Who We Are
SOGS is a group of concerned residents of West Kambah who are against the deconcessionalisation and development of public lands donated by the ACT government to the Murrumbidgee Country Club (MCC) for community and leisure use.
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Save Our Green Spaces West Kambah News
March 2022: here we go again!
The Murrumbidgee Country Club (MCC) is discussing with a Melbourne-based developer (The Knowles Group) setting up aged care and retirement facilities on the present land zoned for recreational use only. Why a Melbourne-based company? Because local companies know such a proposal will be rejected by the ACT government.
Even with potential political and bureaucratic support, SOGS members need to be vigilant.
Join us on April 20 2022 at Urambi Village community centre, 81 Crozier Cct, Kambah at 530 for a discussion.
Read on in this news item for a short overview of the situation and arguments involved.
Past actions by the community
There is support in our local Kambah community for a recreational space such as a golf club. Indeed, local residents are members of the MCC, although most don’t live in our suburb.
MCC proposals to use its recreationally leased land to build different types of housing and infrastructure have been successfully opposed by the majority of our local community over the past 16 years based on the following arguments:
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As a matter of good public policy, taking public land zoned for recreation purposes and handing it over to private interests for profit is wrong
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The visual and environmental amenity of our district would be dramatically cut by the proposed developments – it is totally out of character!
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* Past surveys have shown residents value their views and open space amenity as significant reasons for living here – Covid experience and other research support this
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*The character of our suburb would be radically changed by such developments in this location, through increased traffic and construction and maintenance activity
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*Engagement with the local community has been crudely and flatly rejected
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*The arguments put forward to justify the proposed developments are false
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*Alternative options to assist the golf club ostensibly with its ‘financial crisis have been rejected out of hand – many golf courses display more creative options
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*Such developments also clash with other ACT legislation such as heritage and environmental matters and certainly these developments would dramatically impact upon the district environment
Brief background
The MCC recreation lease was given by the ACT government for the development of a Country Club. Golfers took over and the wider aspects of the original site plan have been ignored. Under the original lease arrangements, small parcels of land adjacent to the Kambah pool road were allocated for the development of a motel and sporting facilities.
Despite challenges in early years, the club now runs at a profit. However, this club is a sporting club and therefore does not have as its purpose, the making of profit, although to cover up-keep and other running costs, income is required.
For a recreational/sporting club to remain viable, it must depend upon its clients and members to pay for up-grades of facilities – not the public purse, which is already subsidizing the club through lower rates. There are of course other ways in which Governments help such as various grant programs. Selling off a public asset such as a recreational zone lease to pay for a sporting club is inappropriate policy, even with longer term futures in mind. Where is the claim of ‘mutually beneficial’ for the local community found in any such a proposal?
The Knowles proposal
Specifically, the Knowles group is a major private developer for age and retirement living. Its proposal is to purchase parts of the golf course and to develop, build and operate its own facility to house 500 residents and in doing so revamp the existing club house, golfing range and two fairways. No small change to a golf club and the atmospherics of playing on a lovely open course. The idea of a ‘legacy’ for future generations is not part of a sporting club purpose and restricts options irrespective of emerging circumstances such as climate change induced changes.
The aim of the MCC selling off parcels of its present leased land by expanding the areas originally identified for some form of building construction and which is adjacent to or near Kambah pool road is a diversionary tactic. It changes none of the critique outlined above, In fact, it is arguable that this proposed step is only the first of much larger but later steps to build out the golf course areas previously so strenuously opposed by the community. Building alongside Kambah pool road is not out of sight, nor out of mind.
Important Information
What exactly is the MCC proposing?
The MCC is proposing to sell off parts of its land near streets for medium-density housing development projects. To do so, it needs to change the conditions of its concessional lease with the ACT Government which currently classifies the land a Restricted Access Recreation Zone (PRZ2) intended for community and recreational use. The MCC thus wants to profit from, and in the process destroy, an important community asset.
What are the steps the MCC must take to deconcessionalise their lease on our public land?
The MCC must first submit a deconcessionalisation application, requiring public input. Should this be successful, then a development application regarding proposed houses and units must be developed and forwarded to the Government and, also requiring public input.
More about concessional leases
According to the ACT Government’s Environment, Planning and Sustainable Planning Directorate:
“Concessional leases are leases that have been granted for less than market value... They allow Government to help provide core community and social facilities that benefit the community.”
Basically, instead of allocating money from the budget directly, the government provides concessional leases (with low rates) as a way to offer financial support to those organisations it wants to help. So, the MCC has had use of government land at low rates since its inception approximately 30 years ago.
So, why oppose the MCC deconcessionalisation proposal?
There is a key social policy issue of publicly leased land gained from government at low rates being turned into windfall profits for private group use.
There are not only environmental issues arising from MCC's proposed land sell-off, but also social and economic disadvantages for the local community. Proposals to build houses in the identified areas have very significant impacts upon the lives of the local community, local fauna and flora as part of the sensitive peri-urban location.
MCC has a very poor record in working with the local community. It has not kept the neighbouring community properly informed of its deconcession plans, and, where it has announced opportunities for discussion, these have often been at last minute, thus making it hard for interested people to attend. The Club’s deconcession proposal submission to the ACT Planning and Land Authority fails on many counts and certainly provides a misleading impression of community consultation. It is out of date in some of its data, incorrectly represents dissenting views and provides a disingenuous and misleading impression of a public consultation process.
The MCC’s apparent lack of any real interest in or concern for the local community is not only reflected in the disturbing lack of genuine and proper consultation, but the fact that it has reportedly asked interested club members to put up $5000 to be in a ballot to buy the forthcoming available houses, before any process has been agreed to by Government.
There is a very powerful case to oppose the MCC and its application to sell off land for residential development currently enjoyed as a community green space. The local community has every reason to be appalled by this action, not least because we believe it is being pursued by the MCC for private profit at our expense.