Historically, the 20 Wangara Road site was used as a quarry and a municipal landfill. The nature of this land use commonly results in land contamination.

Two Environmental Action Notices (EANs) have been issued by the EPA because extensive investigations undertaken by Council identified the presence of elevated levels of contaminants (land fill gas and groundwater leachate) due to the sites former use as a quarry and municipal landfill. These contaminants are very common in former landfills as they are generated by decomposition of waste however present significant development constraints as to what can or can’t be built or planted at the site.

Find out more about landfill gas via the EPA factsheet.

Leachate is contaminated ground water that has passed through waste material in a closed landfill and picked up contaminants on the way.

The contamination relates to the former use of the site as a landfill. Through careful management and continued environmental monitoring we’ll adhere to the Rehabilitation Plan to remediate the site. This will ensure the site is safe for any future use.

As part of the investigations, Council’s independent environmental assessor undertook analysis of current monitoring (including outside of the site boundaries) to understand whether there is the risk of contamination outside the site boundaries. The assessment is ongoing however, at present, testing indicates that there is low risk of contamination beyond the site boundaries. Council will continue to monitor conditions both inside and outside of the site to ensure there is no risk to public safety.

We’re working with the EPA and environmental specialists to actively monitor and manage contamination created through its historical use as a landfill. We will implement the Rehabilitation Plan, when endorsed by the EPA, to remediate the site. A high-level concept plan will help us to understand the potential future use of the site.

Council will understand all EPA compliance actions following the endorsement of the Rehabilitation Plan. Prior to confirming the timeline for the works delivery schedule, compliance actions will be required to be approved through Council’s capital works program, annual budget and procurement processes.

This consultation is being undertaken to inform the draft Masterplan.

A full understanding of project costs will not be realised until the Masterplan is endorsed, and a capital works program submission is assessed.

If the Masterplan is endorsed by Council in June 2024, as expected, works could commence in the 2025/2026 financial year. This is dependent on site preparation works, as stipulated in the Rehabilitation Plan, and capital works/ budget allocation.

All trees will be retained unless otherwise required under the EPA monitoring of the site.

The Bayside Netball Centre (now called the Bayside Community Sports Centre) was originally planned to be located at 20 Wangara Road – a former landfill quarry more recently used as a golf driving range.

To determine the suitability of the site for major development, Council undertook extensive investigations including traffic assessments; geotechnical tests to determine the depth of the quarry and its stability; identification of possible soil contamination, vapour testing and groundwater flows.

These detailed site investigations found that the site’s former use as a landfill extensive would result in challenging construction requirements and significant cost escalation from the project budget..

Council engaged an EPA approved auditor who conducted a 12-month site audit (as approved by the EPA) to identify possible issues including gas migration and storm water impacts. The audit resulted in the EPA issuing Bayside City Council with two Environmental Action Notices (EANs) (EAN-00001437 & EAN-00001441). Based on this, Council has a number of legal obligations to fulfil at the 20 Wangara Road site, and its future use is likely to be limited to passive open space for informal recreation.

Bayside City Council, in conjunction with the Federal Government, funded the Bayside Community Sports Centre, including two new indoor courts and nine outdoor courts, at the nearby Sandringham College, Holloway Road campus. These facilities will be fully open from February 2024.

At its November 2022 meeting, Council endorsed the future use of the land at 20 Wangara Road as “an interactive passive open space with an environmental focus”.

We’re seeking community feedback to develop this vision into a masterplan and understand how our community would like to enjoy this site in the future.

The potential carpark to be created at the Wangara Road site will be subject to a separate project.

This is because the carpark design will be informed by assessments after the Bayside Community Sports Centre is fully operational (anticipated in February 2024), and after the six-month traffic review is completed. The Masterplan will therefore acknowledge that a car park is planned, but will not propose the final design.

The northeast corner of the site is a proposed future carpark. The final design of a car park will be influenced by upcoming traffic assessments. This is considered a separate project and is outside of the scope of the Wangara Road Masterplan.

Infrastructure that requires substantial development, like sporting fields and courts, as well as the necessary complementary infrastructure like drainage, toilets, shelters, and pavilions; are not included in the plan as they are not compatible with the endorsed rehabilitation plan.

The site requires a constraints-based masterplan as opportunities for the site are significantly limited by:

• the site’s former use as a quarry and landfill
• EPA issued Environmental Action Notices
• the extensive site rehabilitation plan
• ongoing compliance monitoring (leachate, stormwater, gas etc.)
• additional future management considerations
• the inability to dig and lay deep foundations
• Council’s endorsement to use the site as an “Interactive Passive Open Space with an Environmental Focus” at the November 2022 meeting

Given the strong feedback for active recreation in the first phase of community engagement, officers are reviewing where mountain biking and organised sports sits within the broader recreation strategy.

The masterplan proposes that the existing enclosed driving range buildings will be demolished. The buildings are in a poor state and create a barrier to the park from Wangara Road. Further investigation is required to determine all associated risks and costs.

It is anticipated the remaining slab can be utilised to provide community amenities, such as informal active zones, shelters and toilets.

The driving range bays are not enclosed buildings and can therefore be retained and reused to provide amenity outcomes.

Any retained structural elements and framing will undergo condition assessment.

While we have heard that some dog owners would like separate dog off-leash spaces for small and/or timid dogs, having a larger space for dogs to exercise off leash is viewed as a more desirable outcome for the community than multiple small spaces for subjective dog sizes or behaviours.

Council is also unable to enforce segregation based on size or behaviour, as this is a subjective observation. All off-leash dogs must be under effective voice control and it is always the responsibility of the dog owner to ensure their dog(s) is behaving appropriately.

Dogs will be able to roam on leash throughout the rest of the reserve, if the off-leash fenced area is not suitable for them.

Due to the site’s historical use as a quarry and a municipal landfill, the site is subject to Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) Action Notices (EAN). Council has been required to complete previous and ongoing monitoring and compliance measures to ensure contamination levels remain low and manageable at the site.

Council is continually monitoring this site to ensure community safety and that any risks associated with the site’s former use are managed and mitigated.

It was also mandatory for Council to develop a rehabilitation plan for the site. Using gathered data, a specialist and technical experts were able to develop a plan to outline the steps that Council must take in order to return the site safely back to public open space.

Technical assessments formed the basis of this rehabilitation plan including through investigation into how to re-design and re-engineer the existing the landfill cap. This is one the most critical mitigation measures to ensuring safe future site use as it allows the cap to function correctly.

Design elements include:

1. The use of appropriate capping materials (specific soil/clays to allow migration of gas and water which has been previously trapped within the waste zone)
2. Provisions for drainage and stormwater run-off (by leveling out and creating a slightly domed surface layer)
3. Maintaining cap integrity (designing for shallow rooted vegetation, limited compaction, activity, amenities, and infrastructure)
4. Revegetation and adhering to site use restrictions (future site use as passive open space with an environmental focus).

By following the rehabilitation plan steps to address contamination risk at the site, it will allow for soil, water, flora, fauna to re-establish and function appropriately once again at this site. This provides the opportunity for ecosystems to adapt and thrive within the area and for our community to safely interact with a new multi-use public open space area well into the future.