By Victoria Stone-Meadows
THE proposed development of the derelict Cranbourne Swimming Pool on Grant Street is moving forward with developers TM Design Group erecting boarding around the site as early as next week.
The design currently under consideration by Casey Council will see the old pool transformed into an entertainment complex including four 99 seat cinemas.
Director of TM Design Group, Ian Macklin, said while there is a few hurdles to overcome with the council planning permit, he is hopeful things will move quickly.
“The permit will hopefully go through soon and I will be attending the site very shortly to start the clean-up, next week sometime.”
The former pool site has been a magnet for graffiti vandals and squatters since it closed in 2009, unable to compete with the popularity of Casey RACE in Cranbourne East.
Mr Macklin said the first step in developing the site will be to secure it to keep people out of the neglected building.
“First we have to clean it all up and secure it, we don’t want people in there,” he said.
CEO of Cranbourne Turf Club Neil Bainbridge said the club and the Cranbourne Racecourse Recreation Reserve Committee of Management are excited for the development.
“The Recreation Reserve Committee of Management has approved a 21-year lease for developer for the site,” he said.
“It is a matter of planning through council at the moment but we remain hopeful and confident as this will be a great asset to the community.”
According to Mr Macklin, the plan for the development aims to create a complex that while working alongside the turf club, is an entirely separate entity.
“Alongside the candy bar for the cinema, we are also putting in a coffee lounge for the daytime so people can go from a lounge to a bar in the evening with food,” he said.
“We also want to include a terrace area and cocktail lounge with a friendly lounge environment, no TAB and only a little bit of a racing theme.”
TM Design Group is still planning on holding a competition for the community to name the complex so the Cranbourne community can really own the venue.
