It's been awhile since we have had an update on the Bulldog Hilton....

Dogs club ‘vital’
The Star
Charlene Gatt
16th June 2009

CLUB Edgewater is a necessary development for the Western Bulldogs’ survival, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has heard.

Legal counsel for the Bulldogs, Tattersalls and Prizac Developments Chris Townshend told VCAT that Club Edgewater was a proactive way of boosting revenue and attracting more members for the financially volatile club.

Mr Townshend told the tribunal the Bulldogs had a history of being “on the brink”.

He stressed the original Footscray Football Club was made up of Footscray residents and workers and the community had always rallied to keep the club afloat.

The proposed development includes a four-storey hotel, a cafe, a pokies venue with 70 machines, an outdoor bistro area that would face onto Skyline Drive and an outdoor members bar that would face the corner of Skyline Drive and Edgewater Boulevard bistro.

“This location is highly suitable for what’s proposed and it’s particularly suitable for the club. (It’s) a responsible way of managing gaming in the municipality,” Mr Townshend said.

“There is a real connection between the football club and the social fabric of the community.

“It’s probably a regrettable fact that so embedded are football clubs (like the Western Bulldogs) in the community…that they can be taken for granted.”

Residents who attended the opening day shook their heads in disgust and some openly laughed at the comments.

Legal counsel Ian Pitt, who is representing Henry and Niola Glowacki and other Edgewater residents, said it was neither the council nor the residents’ responsibility to “prop up the club”.

“(Western Bulldogs) players are not representatives of the western suburbs or Footscray at all. They come from all over Australia,” he said.

Residents Against Inappropriate Development in Maribyrnong (RAIDIM) spokesperson Margaret Rutherford told the hearing RAIDIM would not object to a smaller development that had no poker machines, had the right number of car parks and provided for the social fabric of the estate.

In a VCAT first, the tribunal is hearing two appeals at the same time.

The Bulldogs are appealing against Maribyrnong City Council’s decision to refuse the planning permit for the development, and the council is appealing the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation’s decision to grant a gaming license.

The hearing continues this week. RAIDIM will make their submission to the tribunal on 22 June.