Residents say no Moore parking, please

PATRICK BILLINGS
Moore Park residents are concerned the heritage-listed Moore Park East will be handed over to the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust (SCGT).
Neither Centennial Parklands nor the SCGT would confirm or deny the rumour.
The Minister for Sport and Recreation, Kevin Greene, would only say: “The use of Moore Park East for on-grass parking during major events remains unchanged.”
The State Government’s position has done little to allay fears held by locals.
Secretary of the Centennial Park Residents Association, Brenda Sambrook, said several SCGT trustees had confirmed the rumours at a recent CPRA meeting.
“When they told us our jaws dropped,” Mr Sambrook said. “I think it is a matter of funding. CP has forty administrative staff and I think they would be quite happy to lease or license the land so they could pay those salaries.”
CPRA co-chairman, Peter Tzannes, was present at the meeting and said the rumours had been trickling down to them for months.
“The SCGT wants to take over control of all the land between the Sydney Cricket Ground and Anzac Parade’ It is a massive amount of land,” he said. ” It is supposed to be protected under legislation.”
Despite a charter to care, control and manage lands dedicated for public recreation, Mr Tzannes is less than confident any land absorbed by the SCGT will be kept for public recreation. Parts of Moore Park are already licensed to the SCGT who use it for on-grass parking.
“The old showground was meant to be reserved for the public but it was leased to Fox studios. We do not want to see Centennial Park lose any more ground.”
In 2006 the New South Wales Auditor General took issue with CP classing several of its properties, such as Fox Studios, as “investment properties”. In the report the Auditor General wrote: “Our concerns centre on whether the properties are held for either strategic purposes or held to provide a social service.”
In a letter to the Premier, Lord Mayor Moore asked for confirmation of the rumours but is yet to hear back.
The Lord Mayor is concerned that under the State Government’s Metro Strategy, to build 55,000 new homes by 2031, the city will be left with very little public space.
“The Centennial Parklands are a vital life line for inner-city residents, particularly given the State Government’s urban consolidation policies. The State Government must make publicly accessible open space a priority,” she said.
A local resident questioned the motives of the trustees.
Meanwhile Mr Tzannes said he wants to continue the legacy started by Jack Mundy and Patrick White who fought to save Centennial Park in the 1970s.
“I just want to safeguard the park for future generations,” he said. “It is an issue quite close to my heart.”