Have your say on the Moonee Ponds Creek by 14 August

Many of us have dreamed of cracking the concrete that encases the Moonee Ponds Creek for much of its flow through the southern part of Moonee Valley.

There is now a fifty year plan to remove the concrete and restore the creek to a healthy and beautiful waterway.

At the moment, the creek is, in parts, little more than a concrete drain funnelling precious stormwater to the sea.

Occasionally, as on 30 January 2018, it is more river than creek.

Images: Rose Iser

Moonee Valley and Moreland councils have been working with the Friends of Moonee Ponds Creek to develop a comprehensive plan to create a ‘chain of ponds’ along the stretch of the creek to make better use of the water to irrigate parkland, and to restore the ecological health and natural beauty of the creek.

The plan can be found here.

Here are the maps from the Flemington and Travancore end:

Images: MVCC taken with permission at public consultation session

I attended a consultation session in Flemington last week and the following topics were discussed:

the need for immediate planning controls to protect land adjacent to the creek from further development (Moonee Valley Councillors approved a development adjacent to the creek in Strathmore the previous week without any recognition of the impact this would have on the plan being developed for the creek…)
the need to acquire land for paths and access
the absence of bike path markings on the plans makes it hard for people to imagine the ponds and bike paths working together
the cost of building bridges and the difficulty of getting approval for more risk intensive (and inaccessible) but beautiful forms of creek crossings – like rocks to jump over
the need to ensure Masterplans (like the Debneys Park Masterplan under development) work in tandem with the plans for the creek

The plans for the creek are extensive. It’s worth taking a look and having your say before August 14th.

Email ourcreek@mvcc.vic.gov.au or openspace@moreland.vic.gov.au with any feedback you have on the draft plan. For further information, you can call call Moonee Valley Council’s City Design Team on 9243 8888 or Moreland’s Open Space Team on 8311 4387.

Have your say by Tuesday, 14 August.

All of the details are here: http://www.mvcc.vic.gov.au/Experience-Moonee-Valley/Parks-and-playgrounds/Park-upgrades-and-projects/Our-Moonee-Ponds-Creek.aspx

… including the history of the creek in a lovely pictorial timeline.