Wow!  We had a great show of community interest in keeping this parkland for the people.  Approximately 250 people (and about 40 dogs!) attended the meeting and walk in the park.  The meeting heard from federal and state members of parliament Kelvin Thompson, Carlo Carli, Christine Campbell and Colleen Hartland.  Local councillors Mark O’Brien, Daniel De Lorenzis and Mark Higginbotham were also present, showing their support.

Mr Carli and Ms Campbell told the meeting they are actively campaigning within the Brumby Government to bring about the transfer of the land to the City of Moreland. Ms Hartland will be addressing a series of questions to the Government this week to ascertain why the transfer has remained unresolved since 2006.  MECPG chairperson Greg Carden also addressed the meeting, speaking to concerns of residents.

“Residential development in this flood-prone parkland will be an environmental disaster. Development of the land will also drastically reduce Coburg’s public open space at a time when thousands of new residents are moving in to the Kodak and Pentridge developments. This park should be the centrepiece of a revitalised Coburg” said Mr Carden. 

MECPG will continue to campaign for the retention of the single largest piece of public open space in Moreland. “The fact 250 people turned out on a Sunday morning really demonstrates how much the people of Coburg value this space. We will continue to fight until the state government ensures this urban jewel is protected for this and future generations of Coburg residents” said Mr Carden. 

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 14th, 2008 at 11:56 pm and is filed under flora & fauna, history, meetings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.