The Royal Park Hospital is now the site for a major property development, "The Parkville Gardens". This week the developers - Australand and The Citta Property Group - have opened their display houses for priority viewing by a number of invited groups. (The raison d’etre for construction of the houses – to accommodate Games athletes for ten days in March 2006 – has scarcely been mentioned in advertising.)

Melbourne City Councillor Kevin Chamberlin says: "The public should remember that by the time ‘The Parkville Gardens’ is completed in 2011 there will be 1,000 dwellings crammed onto this 20 hectare estate, not just the seven display houses now open for inspection. This will be real high-density, high-rise living, quite out of character with most of inner city Melbourne. The developers will pocket the profits and move on, leaving the Melbourne and Moreland Councils to deal with the problems of providing services for a greatly increased population in what is a whole new suburb. For instance, major problems loom with traffic congestion and schools in the Melbourne municipality, which are already at capacity with long waiting lists".

Geoff Pollard, a local resident and RPPG member, comments: "This new residential development on the Royal Park site will be entirely car dependent as there is no nearby public transport to the city. According to Vicroads, there will be 8,200 extra car movements per day from the new development site. The local roads are already overloaded. For example Park Street, the main access route, carries over 10,000 vehicles per day – as a local road it is only supposed to carry 1,000. Traffic gridlock in peak hour is already a daily experience for residents and commuters in Brunswick and Parkville. What does the future hold for our once peaceful neighbourhoods?"

The Royal Park Protection Group continues to protest over what appears to us one of the biggest property scams in Victoria’s history. While our hospitals are crying out for funds, the Bracks Government has robbed taxpayers of their rightful inheritance, having given away 20 hectares of public land and public assets including heritage buildings, plus a $85 million subsidy, to private developers for private profit in return for the use of houses on the site for athletes’ accommodation for just ten days of the Games.

We say shame on Premier Bracks!

Contact: Julianne Bell RPPG Convenor 98184114 or 0408022408