Moonee Valley Council wants to take over Gowanbrae, Flemington Racecourse and Showgrounds

A bold proposal by a council in Melbourne’s northwest to shift a boundary line would claim Flemington Racecourse, the Showgrounds and the suburb of Gowanbrae.

Moreland councillor Oscar Yildiz says Gowanbrae should remain in Moreland.

A Moreland councillor has rebuffed a bold proposal to shift the council’s most northwestern suburb to Moonee Valley.

But Moonee Valley councillors voted unanimously last week to write a letter to the state government asking to absorb the suburb of Gowanbrae after it was “stolen” from the council several years ago.

However, in a series of tweets on the issue, Cr Oscar Yildiz, whose north west ward contains Gowanbrae, said the suburb should remain in Moreland and the move was about “rates income”.

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Speaking on his motion at last week’s council meeting, Moonee Valley Deputy Mayor John Sipek said the suburb should be shifted because he had heard from many Gowanbrae residents who thought they were already part of Moonee Valley.

The suburb is wedged between Airport West, Strathmore Heights, Glenroy and the Western Ring Rd. It contained 2904 people in the 2016 census.

Cr Richard Lawrence said he agreed with the motion because Gowanbrae was a better fit in Moonee Valley than Moreland and the council should take the chance to increase its population.

Gowanbrae is wedged between Airport West, Strathmore Heights, Glenroy and the Western Ring Road.

“Gowanbrae … is close to the Airport West shopping area and given that Moreland has probably got a large municipal base than us it’s probably good we can increase our numbers via Gowanbrae,” he said.

“What was stolen from this municipality all those years ago, at a stroke of a pen could be returned to our city.”

The letter from Moonee Valley Council will also ask the minister to transfer responsibility for Flemington Racecourse and the Melbourne Showgrounds from Melbourne City to Moonee Valley.

Responsibility for Flemington Racecourse was taken from Moonee Valley in the early ‘90s after the City of Essendon was absorbed by Moonee Valley. Picture: Getty/file.

Both the racecourse and showgrounds are located within Moonee Valley’s suburbs.

Control of the sites changed hands from Moonee Valley to Melbourne in the early ‘90s when a slew of boundary changes occurred.

Cr Sipek said the traffic and amenity pressures from events held at Flemington Racecourse were felt only by Moonee Valley residents and therefore Moonee Valley Council should have control of the site’s planning controls.

“Everybody believes we are the responsibility when the festivals are held there. We have the traffic problems so we should it have it returned to us,” he said.

Melbourne City Council spokeswoman Jem Wilson said the Flemington Racecourse and Showgrounds should remain in Melbourne.

“[They are] significant sites so it’s appropriate that they be managed under the legislated responsibilities of a capital city council,” she said.

“The City of Melbourne delivers high-quality services to these areas. A review of the boundaries has been considered before. It’s likely that the costs of any boundary change would outweigh any proposed benefits.”

Moreland Council did not respond before deadline.

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