by Shane Sody

Bureaucrats within Planning SA have begun assessing hundreds of responses from the community, on proposed zoning changes for 70 hectares of your Open Green Public Adelaide Park Lands.

*Elder Park. The Government wants more development here to remove more of this last remaining sliver of Open Green Public space between North Terrace and the river*

The State Government's so-called 'Riverbank Precinct' Planning Code Amendment was circulated for public comment for a mere six weeks, starting on 15 September. The closing date for submissions was Wednesday 27 October.

Planning SA refused to extend the closing date despite a request from the City Council.

*70 hectares or your Open Green Public riverbank Park Lands . For the State Government the green spaces are not disappearing quickly enough. Pic: Airborne Media*

Although it is too late to respond to the formal document it is NOT too late to take other action.

See below for suggestions on:

contacting Upper House Members of Parliament to support a new Bill that would protect your Adelaide Park Lands
contacting the Premier, Steven Marshall, the Planning Minister Vicki Chapman, or the Member for Adelaide, Rachel Sanderson.

An at-risk stretch of the River Torrens / Karrswirra Parri - between Possum Part / Pirltawardli (Park 1) in the foreground and Helen Mayo Park (Park 27) across the river in the background. Pic: Peter Sansom

If the Government does indeed re-zone Riverbank Park Lands as it has suggested, then the re-zoning would represent the biggest attack on your Open Green Public Park Lands in their 184-year history.

Vast stretches of your riverbank Park Lands would be targeted by developers for usages including offices, shops, hotels, apartments, a $660 million dollar stadium, multi-storey car park and another hospital.

*Pinky Flat - also at risk from the Government’s riverbank plans. Pic: @adventuringtees*

See recent news coverage:

At the "Save Helen Mayo Park Picnic Rally" on Sunday 17 October, SA Labor and The Greens signalled they would oppose the Governnent's plans for a stadium in Park 27,

They carried through with that promise with a vote in the Legislative Council on Wednesday 27 October.

However, Labor has stopped short of offering to reverse any Park Lands re-zoning.

The City Council also decided (on Tuesday 26 October) to oppose the stadium’s construction in Helen Mayo Park.

However the proposed stadium is only one of the many Park Lands attacks that would be made possible by the Government’s re-zoning plans.

*Another part of the River Torrens / Karrawirra Parri - downstream from the weir - targeted by the Government’s re-zoning plans. Pic: Mary Jose*

WITH YOUR SUPPORT, PARLIAMENT CAN REJECT THE RE-ZONING

Please contact one or more of the Members of State Parliament’s Upper House.

Urge them to support the Park Lands Amendment Bill that is due to be debated on Wednesday 17 November.

At present, the Planning Minister alone can approve any re-zoning changes,
However, on Wednesday 17 November 2021, the upper House will debate a Bill introduced by Greens MLC Robert Simms. This Bill, if passed into law, would prevent re-zoning of any part of the Park Lands without the consent of **both** Houses of Parliament.
The Marshall Liberal Government does not have a majority in State Parliament.
Several former Liberals (and a former Labor MP) are sitting in Parliament as independents, controlling the balance of power between the State Government and the Opposition.
YOU can help by **contacting any member of the Legislative Council** and urging them to support **the Park Lands Amendment Bill.**

and ALSO CONTACT THESE THREE:

A suggested email from you, to each of these three State Cabinet decision-makers:

Click on these links (one at a time) to create an email with the suggested text below, or write your own message.

Subject: Government "vision" for Riverbank Park Lands

"Although formal consultation on the Riverbank Precinct Code Amendment has concluded, I wish to lodge my strong objection to the State Government's so-called "vision" that has driven the proposed re-zoning.

Planning SA has been acting to implement your Government's vision, so it is vitally important that you are aware of the impact that your controversial "vision" would have on Adelaide's world-unique priceless garland of Park Lands.

If Parks are re-zoned for other purposes then they will lose their character as Parks. Re-zoning for the proposed purposes of entertainment, innovation, health etc would allow multiple developments over coming years to gradually replace Open Green Public spaces in each one of the four targeted zones.

Adelaide's figure-eight of Park Lands garlanding both the City and North Adelaide is a treasure found in no other city in the world.

It should be valued as such, not sacrificed as if it were merely vacant development sites.

Many areas of the Park Lands have been lost to development over recent decades and the current re-zoning proposal would have the effect of diminishing much further the Open Green Public areas of Park Lands - accelerating the loss of this priceless resource.

AFTER RE-ZONING, THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO PARK LANDS

On 26 October 2021, the State Commission Assessment Panel decided that this proposed building was “not seriously at variance with the provisions of the Planning & Design Code” and approved construction on Park 11 (the former RAH site now misleadingly titled “Lot Fourteen”.

The site was re-zoned last year because the State Government wanted to build this, rather than return the site to Park Lands.