Mt Gambier City Council 'Plans' For Old Rail Lands

Howdy y'all and welcome to a mostly visual post prompted by a discussion (about 11 Sept 24?) on the most excellent Mt Gambier & Districts Residents and Ratepayers Associations' Facebook page (link below) about what is and/or is not happening with the iconic Old Rail Station in Mt Gambier...I've included here my 'Comment' for context...enjoy...***

https://www.facebook.com/MGDRRA

Hi,

Recent discussion on the most excellent Mt Gambier & Districts Residents and Ratepayers Association Facebook page re the iconic Old Rail Station and possible storm damaged tiles, what's it's future? etc.

Didn't wanna' hog the narrative there, so here's an accompanying TMGI input.

I'll expand this into a review-style blog with lots more documents, photos etc.

Bottomline, MGCC was 'gifted' the Rail Lands by the Rann Labor government in 2005 and immediately set-about massive Retail/Commercial development plans.

These 30-page, architect-drafted plans (photo below) were presented to Ratepayers/Citizens at MGCC Info meetings in February 2006.

It has 3-4 designs/configurations that all include large areas of Retail/Commercial development.

In November 2011 MGCC threw a wee shindig in the Helpmann Theatre atrium/foyer to launch their Parklands Concept Plan (photo 2), again extensive/expensive plans presented albeit far less Retail/Commercial.

Imagine the gigs you could throw at a Rail Lands that actually had a Sound Shell and covered plaza.

I know that some peeps have spent years making repeated concerted efforts to 'tenant' the Rail Station but MGCC has refused them; not my specific business so I'll leave it to those involved to comment/act.

Then days after Xmas 2023 this banner (photo 3) appeared at the Rail Lands, carefully cable-tied to the fence.

I personally love the bit about "suitably positioned applicants".

No idea what's happened with this.

I'll expand on TMGI The Blog, but in the absence of any actual logical reason, I believe that MGCC, for whatevs reasons, remain steadfastly, bloody-mindedly committed to their Retail/Commercial expansion of Centro/Lakes Plaza onto the Rail Lands site and that's why the Rail Station has been kept empty.

Cheers, Nick

 

***And that about covers it for now, so we'll briefly assess each pic below as we go, and, ah, see yous at the other end...

This (below) is the cover-page of the 30-page brochure presented by then Mt Gambier City Council CEO Greg Muller at his/their public meeting re the Rail Lands, and as reported in The Border Watch (below, "Where is bus terminal")...(yeah yeah, and I'm gunna' have a wild guess who it was asked 'Where's the terminus?'-Ed)...this was arguably my very first MGCC public meeting...(and second, ya' went to one in the arvo and the main evening one-Ed)...fair dues, and well remembered...(yeah I recall vividly and with great good mirth the 2 li'l ol' ladies sitting right behind yous, and quietly geeing yous on when Greg mate started getting a bit upset-Ed)...yeah I mean, all we were doing was politely asking some very pertinent questions, Greg very politely told us to let some others have a go, so we did, and then when they quickly petered-out, we put our hands-up again...(I'm Language Warning myself now, cop this, fucking hilarious...so...fucking...hilarious...there was a gentle flutter of genuine mirth breathed across the room, and fuck me if that didn't just make ol' mate Greg even more upset-Ed)...and all the while 2 angry ol' biddies a whippin' their willin' mules to action...I agree, fucking hilarious...End Language Warning...

The meeting was pretty much a contrived nonsense with that very special sense of Predetermined Outcome about it...and that's why we were asking questions, eg, where is the plan for open parklands like heaps of people want? what about using it for a proper Bus Terminus? etc etc...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This (below) is the 'Basic Concept Plan' contained there-in...please note it has not just Retail/Commercial Development but a huge expansion of Centro/Lakes Plaza right across the site with Railway Tce gone etc...this is why the Rail Easement/Corridor had to be moved, the only reason why...(well yeah that, that and creating a nice earner for someone-Ed)...indeed, but ultimately, all of that very extensive and very very expensive excavation and re-location of the Rail Easement was to legally allow the Centro/Lakes Plaza expansion onto the Rail Lands...the expansion simply would not be allowed across the Rail Easement, so the Easement had to be physically replaced elsewhere...(indeed, to do what MGCC have done thus far on the site is at best the bare minimum and certainly did not require the extraordinary effort/cost of moving the Easement-Ed)...fa shizzle'...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here's another view, this is 'Option A'...'Option B' is virtually identical, certainly when total Retail/Commercial footprint/percentage is considered...both 'Options' identify/include the Rail Station but I don't believe this is genuine, rather, it's to avoid any questions/criticism on this issue...below that is the article from The Border Watch relating to these meetings 

I Please also note that the firm 'Design Inc' have been mentioned just days ago on the MGDRRA Facebook page re an article about the massive financial losses MGCC /Ratepayers are incurring re the Farcical Aquatic Recreation Centre (Wulanda), estimated at a net loss of approx $3.2million per annum...(on yeah, some dude bangin' on about how it was Barney McCusker's son's company and asking, quite rightly, why they were MGCCs' choice for the FARC design, etc-Ed)...what can I tell ya'ate? MGCC 101, rorting Ratepayers hard-earned to hand to Councillors families/friends/associates...

This (below) is a photo from early 2016, taken in the main Helpmann Theatre foyer/atrium, possibly/probably when I was attending a MGCC meeting...it shows the original partition-sized glossy posters still attached to said partition boards, seen here turned inside-out...(weren't they the ones that were used by MGCC at it's November 2011 pomp-and-ceremony launch of their $10million Parklands Concept Plan, that, in my opinion was never ever genuine but rather a shiny object/dead cat that MGCC flung onto the table to not just distract away from all the criticism they were (still are) copping for the woeful Main Corner redevelopment debasco (debacle/fiasco), but also to address all the related flak about the lack of MGCC action on the Rail lands? asking for a friend-Ed)...well, yes yes yes, and yes, and below that is some of the relevant reportage from TBW December 2011...

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the reportage of the 'Revised Plan' from September 2014, where-in the Sound Shelter and Covered Courtyard are gone although included to some degree in the supplied 'plan picture', and the cost has dropped from $10m in November 2011 to now $4.2m in 2014...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just found this (below), the original flyer from 2005 about the very first MGCC meetings re the Rail Lands, 27th July 2005...I've previously stated that Muller/MGCC presented 4 different but near identical plans for massive Retail/Commercial Development at the February 2006 meetings, and I believe that this was MGCC's contribution, and add to that Design Incs' Concept Plan and 2 'variations' and that's ya' 4...   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And that'll do for now...gunna' get 'Tech Support' in and set-up that second blog for all of this and the many other Rail Lands related documents, eg, from MGCCs' 2004/05 Yearbook where-in they describe in detail exactly what costs MGCC have lumbered Ratepayers with by moving that Easement and removing related infrastructure eg all the rails...(yay-Ed)...yeah I know...

Tomorrow: More Shizzle About Whatevs...Deal With It

I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers and laters...