The Northern Midlands Council will not take over ownership of the existing park at Conara from the Department of State Growth, meaning it will be decommissioned.
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The council deferred a decision on the matter in March to seek additional advice on its options, before it decided to not take ownership of the site last week.
State growth removed amenities at the existing park at Panec Street and Midland Highway due to vandalism and wanted to decommission it because of illegal camping.
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The council was asked to conduct the community engagement about decommissioning the park, on behalf of state growth, but voted not to conduct it at its January 20 meeting.
The council proposed a new $170,000 park at Conara in December but a petition this year showed more than half the residents wanted the existing park upgraded instead.
Council's general manager Des Jennings said if the council took over the existing site it would have cost $3000 a year to maintain but costs to upgrade it were not determined.
"It is understood that state growth will be decommissioning the playground and removing access to the area," he said.
If the council did take ownership it would have had to consider:
- Relocating the playground to the road and creating a car park
- Removing access to the other playground and car park to prevent overnight camping
- Use the 13.7 hectare site for tree planting, with a long-term landscaping and tree planting program
It could have chosen to not proceed with a new park, advise state growth it did not agree with the decommission or accept ownership of the site.
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Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
