VNPA Submission to the Review of the 2010 Point Nepean National Park Maste
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Level 3, 60 Leicester St Carlton Victoria 3053 Phone 03 9347 5188 Fax 3 0 9347 5199 [email protected] www.vnpa.org.au ABN 34 217 717 593 VNPA s ubmission to the review of the 2010 Point Nepean National Park Master Plan 4 March 2016 The community protests in late 2014 against the Point Leisure Group and Napthine Government’s plans for Point Nepean National Park and the Quarantine Station. 1 Executive ummary s The Victorian National Parks Association Key principles for the planning, protection and welcomes the opportunity to comment on the management f o Point Nepean National Park review of the 2010 draft Point Nepean National This section lists the principles that the VNPA Park Master Plan. believes shoud drive the conservation, planning management and use of the Point Nepean Introduction National Park. These include: This first section of this submission briefly • Encouragement of sustainable and adaptive outlines the community fight for Point Nepean reuse and conservation of heritage buildings National Park, the park’s values, previous through the staged implementation of the planning processes and the election 2016 master plan commitments of the Andrews Government. • The 2009 park management plan and the Those commitments were: new 2016 master plan are the key reference • Protect Point Nepean for all Victorians and document in the anning park pl and seek to ensure it remains open to all management processes Victorians • Return of Parks Victoria to ement the manag • Review immediately the lease to determine its of the entire park and for it to have sufficient legal status funds and authority to carry out that • Use any powers of the Parliament to disallow management the lease • Governance and institutional arrangements • Return Parks Victoria as the overall manager ensure single a integrated national park of an integrated Point Nepean National Park. under one management agency • Establishment of an overall planning ess proc Subsequently, t he Victorian Labor Government that provides long-‐term protection for the announced on 1 July 2015 that: park and its natural and values, cultural is We will look to refresh the 2010 draft transparent and accountable, and provides Masterplan, ensuring it reflects current policy, effective community consultation, education community views, and future opportunities and engagement for the site’. • Establishment of a formal process for the The second and third commitments have been community to provide advice on matters delivered and the review of the master plan such as leasing proposals, the proposed provides the government with the perfect adaptive reuse of buildings and precinct opportunity to deliver on one and four. development plans. Master plans and management plans A leasing strategy for the Point Nepean Quarantine Station This section reviews the 2010 and 2013 master plans. The key differences between them are: The Quarantine Station should have a leasing strategy that has no head encour lease, ages a • The 2010 document proposes one new diversity of leases individual for or groups of building as part of a boutique hotel to be buildings, and ensures market rents are paid to built on the footprint of the two 1960s Parks Victoria (and those rents should be barracks buildings (proposed for retained or the management of the park). demolition). In contrast, the 2013 plan allowed for the ' replacement of non-‐ Education at Point Nepean Quarantine Station significant buildings with buildings' new as well as other new buildings Education activities are a vital component of any • The 2010 plan provides far more detail and national park management There plan. should a be guidance on the adaptive reuse of buildings with diversity of university and educational institutions plans drawn to illustrate how individual providing education and research activities. buildings could so be reused At the height of the campaign to stop the sale of • The 2013 plan includes a set of appropriate use Commonwealth land at Point Nepean, the VNPA and principles developed by Parks Victoria, the Point the National Trust (Victoria) released their EOI Nepean Community Trust and the Point Nepean proposal for the Point Nepean National Park Advisory Committee and which were contained LivingMuseum. The EOI is attached to this within the 2009 management plan, the 2010 plan submission, as it remains a contemporary vision for does not. the future conservation, management and use of the national park’s natural and cultural values. 2 This submission i br efly outlines the key replace, th ere is a vely relati small number of education, interpretation and restoration buildings in need of reuse. Each is in remarkably activities that could occur at the LivingMuseum, good condition and, with small amounts of a typical in day its operation, and s a vi ion for expenditure, could be fit for use. A priority shoud be the Point Nepean National ark. P to encourage building uses that can operate within the confines of the internal heritage fabric, once any The January 2016 discussion paper necessary safety and servicing issues are dealt with. This submission takes issue with the Table 2 provides details of existing and potential development-‐focussed vision in the discussion uses for each of the Quarantine Station’s buildings, paper, and opposes the proposed new jetty. including those uses raised by the 2010 master plan. In all, there are 44 buildings (once those already One of the other principles of Create concern is: removed and those proposed to be removed are a balance between conserving park values, visitor deducted) in need of a use, although some of these experience and increasing visitation. This smacks are already in use (and these uses could be of tradeoffs and could be open to gross retained). interpretation. The principle should read: If we presume that the 13 Disinfecting Complex Visitor experience and increasing visitation buildings, some of which are already in use for should be managed to achieve the park’s museum/interpretation, are all put to use for that prime purpose, the protection and purpose, and the other eight currently uses with conservation of the area’s natural and retain them, then there are 23 for which a use needs cultural values. to be found. Of those, there are the 11 Influenza The VNPA is also concerned that in the Master Huts, which could refurbished be for basic cabin Plan Concept on page 7, number 10 refers to accommodation as detailed in Table 2, and only new buildings as though this was from the 2010 another 12 buildings that remain in need of a use. master plan. In fact, the 2010 master plan Most of se the are found in the western part of the referred to only one new building, to be Quarantine Station, and some are quite small with associated with a boutique hotel. It was the possibly limited potential community or commercial 2013 master plan that referred to new buildings uses. in the plural. There is no need for new buildings Sustainability should be an overarching when the focus should be on the adaptive reuse policy/principle in the consideration of the future of heritage buildings. use of Quarantine the Station e.g. solar panels on VNPA supports number 12, Improved ‘ roofs; stormwater harvesting. The park could interpretation of the adjacent Port Phillip Heads become a showcase for sustainable velo de pment. Marine National Park’, and recommends the Adaptive re use is also part tainable of any sus integration of the planning for the Point Nepean development strategy. National Park, Port Phillip Heads Marine The adaptive reuse of the heritage buildings at the National Park and the Mornington Peninsula Point Nepean Quarantine Station may require the National Park. support of some commercial activities (not commercial development). Such activities should be Potential Quarantine Station building uses and appropriate to the Point Nepean National Park’s associated partnerships sense of place, cultural significance and the great This final section reviews the current and potential environmental and historical importance that it has future uses of the heritage buildings at the Point for Victorians. Nepean Quarantine Station. Contrary to the view expressed by some in the , community that there are scores of dilapidated heritage buildings in need of massive capital expenditure to reconfigure or 3 The buildings of the Point Nepean National Park Quarantine Station and the adjoining coastal moonah woodland, a threatened Victorian vegetation community listed Flora under the and Fauna Guarantee Act. The Jarman Oval and Wombat Reserve are seen in the far right distance, the Defence y Road on its wa to Point Nepean across the top left corner, Danson Road in the middle distance and Jacksons Road in the bottom left corner heading east towards nt. Police Poi Introduction The values of Point Nepean National Park Point Nepean National Park protects the largest and Establishing Point Nepean National Park most intact area of remnant coastal vegetation on the Multiple layers of – history Indigenous Port Phillip Bay coastline and the southern communities, early European settlement, Mornington Peninsula. It is of high conservation quarantine and military defense – and significance for flora and fauna of national and state magnificent coastal landscapes make Point significance. Nepean National Park and the Quarantine Station jewels in Victoria’s conservation estate. The park is also considered to be of state (and possibly national) archaeological and Aboriginal Over many years the community has fought cultural significance