source : the age
At the end of a suburban street in Melbourne’s east is a bit of green space that even those who love it concede is no “destination park”.
Bronhill Road Reserve in Ringwood East has a small, basic playground, paint chipping from the wings of a parrot pictured on the equipment’s steel side.
At the far end of its 2200 square metres, towering pine trees form a shaded corridor where birds and possums nest. Peeking through the pines, though, is a looming threat – an aged care provider trying to acquire the park.
Locals want to keep the park in public hands and are gearing up for a fight against what they say would set a disturbing precedent for broader Melbourne.
The not-for-profit Donwood Community Aged Care Services is trying to buy the park from Maroondah City Council as part of a broader plan to create a “walkable village” for residents.
Neighbours argue such a sale would further privatise their community as Donwood buys up homes in the area, at a time when rapidly increasing urban density in Melbourne is making public parkland more sparse.
Nearby resident Shea Vaughan’s primary school-aged children affectionately call Bronhill Road Reserve “the lemon park” for its yellow playground equipment.
“It’s a really precious community asset,” says Vaughan, a geographer. “There is lots of opportunity to share the space, but it really doesn’t need to leave public hands.”
Families in this little pocket of Ringwood East are not alone in airing concerns about reduction in public spaces, particularly green spaces.
Weeks ago, exclusive all-boys school Brighton Grammar sparked concerns with its proposal to lease public parkland in exchange for upgrading facilities. Earlier this year, a plan to scrap permits and install permanent infrastructure on the parkland surrounding the MCG prompted a similar row with local residents.
And, contrary to the proposal in Maroondah, councils in other parts of Melbourne are pouring millions of dollars into retrofitting more public pocket parks.
Maroondah City Council is considering Donwood’s proposal after community consultation closed on August 28, and says that while it hasn’t made a decision yet the aged care provider has promised any future development would keep the park publicly accessible.
If a council and Donwood “partnership” went ahead, the council would look at legal requirements protecting community interests, Maroondah Mayor Linda Hancock says.
“Any future development application from Donwood would require council approval and provide a further opportunity for community consultation,” Hancock says.
Donwood has floated new play and exercise equipment at the park as part of any deal.
Residents are bewildered by the notion of such a partnership and say the same could be achieved if the aged care home simply chipped in money to pay for upgrades.
“If I sold my house, I’m not partners with the person who purchased my house,” says Suzy Stojanovic, a Bronhill Road resident and former local councillor.
In a letter to neighbours this year, Donwood president John Habgood said the aged care provider would create pathways through the park for better access beyond and to Diana Street, which borders its facility.
Donwood also owns a number of properties along Mount Dandenong Road, ending at the western edge of the park, Habgood said.
Neighbours say the aged care provider has encouraged them to sell their homes to it.
“Our vision is to provide a ‘walkable village’ to enable not only Donwood’s residents and families but also the community to be able to traverse through our facility,” Habgood wrote in the letter to residents.
“Enabling access through the park for residents of Bronhill Road will enhance local amenity through the facilities Donwood intend to develop, including a community centre, small cinema, cafe/restaurant, gymnasium, allied health providers, hairdresser and function rooms.”
Contacted by The Age, Donwood chief executive Natasha Wilkinson said: “We have no commentary; this is a discussion with council and their ratepayers.”
In the letter, Habgood said the park was “seldom used due to its uninviting nature, the condition and age of the play equipment and the difficulty required to traverse it due to the significant level drop-off at the eastern boundary”.
Local parents say the park is one of few close by that their children can visit unsupervised, given it isn’t near major roads.
Marc Dietrich moved in with his wife down the street almost 20 years ago. The couple have a 12-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter.
“If they want to go anywhere outside of our block, it does mean crossing a major arterial like Maroondah Highway or Mount Dandenong Road,” Dietrich says. “To have this little sanctuary in the middle of all of that is vital moving into the future.”
Standing among the pines, Dietrich says these mature trees are also a big part of what makes this park special. In Habgood’s letter, the president flagged the old pine trees would be removed to “provide light and safety”.
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