by Shane Sody

The number of trees destroyed so far for a new hospital on your Park Lands, has reached 304, and the destruction is not yet complete.

The new Women’s and Children’s Hospital is being constructed on Park 27 of your Park Lands, after the State Government (in 2022) rejected suggestions to choose any alternative brownfield site.

In 2024, hundreds of trees were felled in Kate Cocks Park and Bonython Park / Tulya Wardli (Park 27) in preparation for construction of an eight-storey car park, now nearing completion.

But last week, further tree felling was carried out, as SA Water prepares to lay a sewerage pipeline from the Park Lands construction site.

13 trees were felled on Wednesday and Thursday, 10 & 11 December 2025. Many more will soon be added to the toll. The State Planning Commission has given permission for SA Water to remove another 42 trees from your Park Lands on a date to be determined.

Adelaide City Councillors have been advised that after SA Water is finished its work, the total tree losses from the hospital construction will have climbed to 346.

The State Planning Commission gave approval for these tree losses, on the condition that SA Water plants replacement trees, to a formula:

Three seedlings to replace each “significant” tree
Two seedlings to replace each “regulated” tree; and
One seedling to replace each “non-regulated” tree.

This means that to replace the 13 trees removed last week, a total of 21 seedlings would be planted. However it’s not clear whether these replacements would be planted on your Park Lands, or elsewhere. SA Water has 12 months to comply.

This most recent tree destruction occurred in just a small portion of what the Government calls this 19-hectare “Expanded Area” where it has granted itself approval for any works associated with the new hospital.

In June 2025, dozens of other trees were felled on the southern side of Port Road, on the edge of Gladys Elphick Park / Narnungga (Park 25) for what is likely to be future road widening associated with the new hospital.

Nor is it clear whether there will be even more tree losses to come in the vicinity of the hospital, but the Government is certainly planning destruction on a much greater scale, next year, in Possum Park /Pirltawardli (Park 1 of your Adelaide Park Lands) for a so-called golf course “re-development”.

An international golf course designer has predicted that the golf “re-development” would necessitate the removal of thousands of mature trees in that Park.

Deputy Lord Mayor, and community independent candidate for Adelaide, Keiran Snape says:

“We’ve seen multiple ongoing attacks on our Park Lands since the Malinauskas Labor government was elected. Unfortunately this latest attack on significant trees in the Park Lands proves areas we thought were safe, aren’t.

“The loss of dozens more trees for the nWCH, a development that could have gone behind the Newmarket Hotel, or up the road on the old brewery site is downright devastating and I stand with the community in their outrage.”

The author of this article, Shane Sody, was the President of the Adelaide Park Lands Association from 2107 to 2025 and remains the editor of the semi-monthly newsletter, "Open Green Public".

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