ROSSDALE Golf Club barred Kingston Council officers from entering the site to conduct an environmental audit last week.
In July 2024, Rossdale Golf Club released plans to redevelop its Aspendale golf course. The plans showed large sections of the golf course replaced with housing of up to three storeys. Kingston Council has previously called for the redevelopment plans to be halted, and this month declared it would use its powers to enter the golf course for survey work (“Tension tees up with Rossdale” The Times 19/2/2025).
The relationship between Kingston Council and Rossdale Golf Club has seemingly grown further strained. Last week Kingston Council put out a statement claiming that the golf club has denied entry to council experts.
“Last week, the club permitted our arborist to enter the site, allowing an important first step in the environmental assessment process. However, this week they denied entry to our experts,” the council statement read. “The club has stated that they do not agree that council has the legal authority to enter the site.”
Rossdale Golf Club president Geoff Charnley has blamed Kingston Council for the disagreement, claiming the club was not given enough notice before the planned visit. “Members will recall that last week council and its representatives were given access for an initial review on our course. Following that, council then demanded access to begin broad investigations involving many people on very short notice of less than one workday. They were denied access on the basis that the club was very busy and there had been no planning or preparation completed for the safe and convenient access to our site,” Charnley said.
“We can now report to members that we will now be working with council to coordinate future access to the course so that their surveys can be fully and safely completed at a time suitable for the club. This is consistent with earlier offers that have been made by the club to council and previously rejected.
“While exact details have yet to be confirmed, it is likely that the surveys will be scheduled around busy use periods on the course. This will also give time to ensure that the council’s consultants have had a safety and operations induction prior to going on the course and that the appropriate insurances and site safety plans are in place.”
Kingston mayor Georgina Oxley has called for the club to work with council in the future. “We are deeply concerned that further delays to this assessment could mean missing critical environmental data, particularly during the important international bird migration season,” she said. “The club previously allowed our arborist access, and we call on the club to do the right thing and allow our experts to continue this vital work.”
First published in the Frankston Times – 25 February 2025