Peachester families still waiting for basic infrastructure installation
DESPITE promises and repeated requests for delivery, a park for Peachester still remains in the pipeline.
Frustrated community advocates say council have left them out of the loop, with little or no correspondence in response to repeated calls for clarity around the proposed project timeline.
Mel Driscoll, spokesperson for ‘A Park for Peachester’ said it had been well over four years since the land located on the corner of High Street and Peachester Road had been earmarked for a community park and recreation reserve, with the block transferred from state government to council management in early 2019.
She said the children and families of Peachester were still waiting for basic park infrastructure to be installed including crucial safety fencing.
She said park advocates had been championing the cause for years, and were once again becoming frustrated. She said she was disappointed to see other neighbouring parks being developed and progress to advanced stages at a comparatively quicker rate, while the Peachester community were still waiting for basic perimeter fencing to be installed.
“We really haven’t asked for anything too elaborate here. To date we still have nothing nor have we received any updates,” Ms Driscoll said.
The community-led initiative has recently received renewed national interest following an invitation for ‘A Park for Peachester’ group members Mel Driscoll and Sally Joyce to present a poster summary of the campaign at the inaugural Planning for Play conference held last month at the Brisbane Powerhouse.
“Despite acknowledgment by some of Australia’s most noted advocates for play, of the immediate potential of Peachester Park as a place of ‘hallowed ground’ we have to question the reason why all requests for activation of this park have been delayed and once again snubbed by Sunshine Coast Council,” Ms Driscoll said.
“This land at Howard Walker Park was allocated for a play place at the beginning of 2019. We’ve gone through numerous community consultations and a master plan process over the last few years and are still waiting for something to happen,” she said.
“We even provided our own initial concept plans. Our community may be small but we are still important.”
Earlier this year Division 1 Councillor Rick Baberowski said he hoped to see perimeter fencing for Howard Walker Park delivered in 2023 with seating nodes in the pipeline subject to budget shortly after as part of the initial play place upgrades.
Cr. Baberowski acknowledged there had been delays however he said that the project had been moved into the capital works program with tangible announcements that construction would start next year.
A Sunshine Coast Council spokesperson said the project has been progressing since 2022.
They said community feedback had shaped the Howard Walker Park Landscape Concept Plan which was used to prepare funding bids to implement the upgrades over stages, and confirmed funding had been allocated for the 2023-24 financial year to undertake the first stage of works. “The first stage of the upgrade is to install a perimeter fence,” a spokesperson said.
“The fencing project is in the design phase, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Construction is then planned to start next year and be completed by the middle of the year.”