Councillor Don Palmer Providing Local Leadership & Working for You

I obviously got it wrong in my post back on the 29th October on this blog site that we now have direction on Unley Oval. According to the Courier the whole thing is stalled.

This must be so confusing to the public of Unley.  And in my opinion only helps to confuse and create the Chinese whispers that have plagued the master plan for so long.

In that post I was proud to write that I put a successful motion to Council, a motion that was designed to move us forward with specific intent on what is needed now.

Yes! what is needed now. While we may play with the parameters on the master plan a master plan is about the future and is long term, but there are issues that are now that need to be addressed.

To remind you all my motion, which was passed, it read

That: 

1. The Administration proceed without delay in: 

a) investigating opportunities to create additional public open space on 
the Unley Oval precinct. 
b) investigating and preparing concept designs to improve the current 
substandard facilities on Unley Oval, to bring them up to SANFL 
compliant standards. 

2. The Administration report back to Council in January 2014, seeking further 
direction.


So, in January we expect a report that homes in on how we might increase the space available to the public. We expect also a report that will identify what is needed for Sturt FC to have SANFL compliant facilities. This will enable us to move forward with a realistic redevelopment project with the benefit of knowing that what we do now will not conflict with possible future plans for the precinct.
This is in lieu of stumbling along trying to come up with the big picture stuff, knowing all along that only parts of it can be auctioned in the near future.
Sorry…………but I simply cant see how this means things have stalled. We have moved from the big picture to the here and now. Not something that might cost in excess of $ 10m but something that might more realistically require and investment of say $ 4.0m.

Moving forward with something that is bite sized rather than stalling things by continuing to talk big picture.
No Unley Oval has not stalled. It is moving into an exciting opportunity for being project ready when funding may become available in the next 12 months or so, which we expect to happen no matter who is in Government this time next year.
Indeed, had we not taken this approach the project would in my opinion have stalled.