Residents Tell Council What They Want

"Over 200 residents packed into a Hoyts Cinema theatre in Norwood last night to tell the Norwood Payneham and St. Peters Council what they thought of Council plans to rezone residential land to allow more dense multi-storey flats to be built. There was a 99.9 per cent total rejection of these proposals," said Evonne Moore, spokeswoman for the St. Peters Residents Association.

"So great was the back-lash against the Council's proposals that it has been forced to hold two hearings to hear the public's views. The first hearing was last night and the next one will be on the 21st of March. Residents are being urged to attend both meetings to show Council their concerns.

"Residents who live near the Linear Park spoke eloquently and sadly about what they feared would be lost from their streets if 4-storey flats come marching down them. The leafy green character of their neighbourhood, the big trees, the open spaces and views, the neighbourliness, the privacy and safety and the wildlife. Sean Connell, Professor of Marine Biology at the University of Adelaide, warned about building concrete canyons along the edges of the Linear Park which would bring massive ecological changes to the area and to the coast," she said

"'Hitler and Goering had their 4 year plans' said Matt Johnston of River St, to laughter and applause. "The visionaries have no plans apart from trashing the legacy of our forebears," he said.

"Speakers also opposed 6-storey flats being allowed on the Hackney Caravan Park site as these would be a concrete eyesore which would clash with the historic conservation zone single-storey cottages opposite, overshadow and overlook neighbours and exacerbate the peak-hour traffic gridlock in Richmond Street which serves as a rat-run. The Caravan Park site is unique in Australian cities and has provided affordable accommodation to tourists and country people visiting sick relatives in hospital for generations. One resident pointed out that the Council's housing density targets are already being met on the Caravan Park site with 47 cabins and site units and 31 powered sites making a total of 78 units," Ms. Moore added.

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