Northcote Golf Course 3pm compromise is going to be tricky to implement

An arbitrary time of 3pm has been invoked as a compromise in the battle for Northcote Golf Course in Melbourne.

Since the Northcote Public Golf Course opened its gates to non-golfers as a public space during the COVID lockdown, the Melbourne golf course has been under increasing pressure to make the change more permanent.

Some local residents decided soon after that returning the space for its original use wasn’t what they wanted.

With the lease on the land expiring in June this year, The City of Darebin put out a call for public submissions on what they like done with the site. And an odd compromise has supposedly been reached.

The Age is reporting that “3pm” will be the time at which the golf course turns into public space.

Mayor Lina Messina said the decision, which followed more than two hours of public submissions and deliberations on Monday night, was unlikely to please everybody, but was “the best we can achieve at this particular time”.

“For me, it’s a win-win. A win-win for the golfers and a win-win for the community,” she said. “For me, it’s about what makes economic sense.”

As part of the plan, 5.72 hectares of land at the southern and northern ends of the course will be turned into local parks and linked by a shared path. The golf course will be also redesigned to keep its nine holes and the council will investigate ways to use the existing buildings for hospitality and events.

The project, expected to be completed in the next financial year, will cost the council about $1 million in design and construction work as well as an additional $100,000 a year in maintenance costs.

The Old Course at St.Andrews sets aside Sundays as a golf-free day and a place for the public to hang out – while respecting the golf course.

Perhaps something like that is a better way to go that this awkward compromise. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.