MORE land has been purchased to help complete the chain of parks project.
The state government has purchased 83 hectares of land in Heatherton and Clayton South. The land will be used to create linked parks between Karkarook Park and Braeside Park.
The state government has come under fire for its plans to use the former Delta landfill site in Heatherton for suburban rail loop stabling. The land had been earmarked for the chain of parks project. An independent report into the suburban rail loop released this year read that a replacement site must be found before the construction of stabling proceeds (“Chain of parks site must be replaced” The News 17/8/22).
Outgoing Kingston mayor Steve Staikos said that the purchase of the land was “extremely rewarding”.
“Council has worked alongside our community for decades towards this goal,” he said. “We are finally seeing former landfills transform into green open spaces, here right on our doorstep. I would like to pay tribute to the many community groups that have worked tirelessly for years to bring the chain of parks sandbelt open space project to life.”
The long-planned chain of parks will be a series of linked parks spanning from Moorabbin to Dingley Village.
The mayor Hadi Saab reiterated that Kingston Council is still disappointed in the plan to use the Delta site for train stabling. “While we welcome this significant step forward, we are disappointed that the Delta site has not been included in the recent land acquisitions by the government despite it being identified for public open space for almost 30 years and earmarked for a regional sporting facility,” he said.
The Delta site was planned to house a regional sporting facility. The Liberals have promised to scrap the rail loop and spend $20 million on converting the Delta site into a recreation reserve if successful at next week’s state election. Labor have pledged to spend $1 million on identifying a new site for a sporting facility in Dingley Village’s Green Wedge.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 16 November 2022