2018-05-08
Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) — My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, and it relates to the Arthurs Seat chairlift, which is now known as the Arthurs Seat Eagle. I first raised this issue in February 2016 on behalf of residents who were concerned about the adverse impacts on native vegetation landscapes and the local amenity that the sky lift would have. VCAT at the time decided it did not have the jurisdiction to look at these works and was unable to carry out a full assessment of the impacts of the proposal. I also raised then that Parks Victoria had not conducted any consultations or discussions or shared information with the local community, and VCAT confirmed that no feasibility study, no market research and no cost-benefit analysis or return-on-investment analysis had been conducted by Parks Victoria.
Nevertheless, the project went ahead, and there were a number of conditions that Parks Victoria was meant to oversee that the developer was meant to comply with. These include a stakeholder meeting that was set down in the VCAT conditions and was meant to take place and has not taken place after 12 months of operation. There is lots of greening work still to do, and it seems like the overflow car park is being used first instead of the second car park. The overflow car park is closer to the development. It was supposed to be still a garden area, but they use it in preference to the second car park. An interpretive centre at the top station has not been implemented, and an interpretive wall at the lower station has not been done. Parks Victoria has not completed its transition of garden works at the top station. Parks Victoria took away the children's playground near the barbecue area, and that has not been replaced.
In addition, the children's school bus stop in the afternoon was never returned to its original position in the car park near the top station. This has meant that children now get off the bus in a very unsafe part of the road on the corner of Pindara and Arthurs Seat roads or alternatively in the Seawinds Gardens. Also the development is serving coffee and wine in throwaway plastic cups and glasses, and there is no separation of rubbish and recycling on the site.
There are a lot of conditions that have not been complied with by the developer, so the action that I request of the minister is that she ask Parks Victoria or her department or whoever it is that is responsible to make sure the conditions that the developer was meant to comply with are actually complied with. President, roads are another example where there are conditions that road builders are meant to comply with, and they never do and no-one ever enforces them, and here is a case where conditions need to be enforced.
REPLY on 24 July 2018:
The Hon Richard Wynne MP, Minister for Planning, is responsible for approving matters specifically required by the planning scheme or a planning permit, that must be endorsed, approved or done to the satisfaction of the responsible authority for the Arthurs Seat Eagle development. The Mornington Peninsula Shire Council is responsible for enforcing the planning scheme, including any work& carried out under the scheme or the planning permit for the Arthurs Seat Eagle development.
Parks Victoria is continuing to deliver the landscape master plan outcome for areas of Arthurs Seat State Park surrounding the Arthurs Seat Eagle development. It has completed over $3 million capital works within the park, enhancing visitor experiences in the precinct.