La Trobe University gives Strathallan Golf Club a five-year lease for course land

A POPULAR golf course in Bundoora has been given a last-minute lifeline, with the land owner offering a new five-year lease.

Members of the Strathallan Golf Club have signed a five-year lease for their course but will still protest for a long-term solution to the saga. Picture: Ellen Smith

STRATHALLAN Golf Club members have holed out on the 18th, securing a five-year lease for their golf course just months before they would have been kicked off the land.

La Trobe University announced the spectacular policy reversal on Friday, allowing the club to remain on the course they’ve used since 1957.

Club president Peter Roberts said members were grateful for the university’s change of heart and wanted to thank everyone who offered support, including Bundoora state Labor MP Colin Brooks and Darebin Council.

But Mr Roberts said despite the deal, the club was still focused on securing the land for the long term.

“At the end of the day, although five years is a good period, we’d be looking in the short to medium term to put this matter to bed,” Mr Roberts said.

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He described the university’s decision as a “significant shift” from its previous “hard ball” tactics but said the five-year term still left negotiations open.

“It just means in three or four years’ time whoever is at the club or the university will be going through the same thing again,” he said.

University spokesman Tim Mitchell said the offer would be based on the existing rental payment and also include conditions to manage waterways and other natural bushlands on the site. The university had originally chosen not to renew the lease in 2015 and the club launched a campaign to save the 60-year-old course.

Strathallan Golf Course was founded in 1957 on land formerly used by the Larundel mental asylum.

La Trobe University bought the land from the Urban Land Authority in 1996 and had leased it to the golf club since then.

Darebin Council explored a number of options to retain the golf course, including blocking private sale of the land.

La Trobe offered for the council to purchase the site but disagreements over the value of the land discouraged any sale.