By Belinda Nolan
THE CHILDREN of Ardeer will finally have a place to play with the development of a new community park getting underway this month.
What was a disused battery recycling plant will be reborn as a playground and park following a community effort to raise funds for the project.
Driven by the lack of quality open space in Brimbank, a group of concerned parents formed the Ardeer Community Playground Committee in 2004 and started researching ways they could tackle the problem.
“There really wasn’t anywhere for us to take our kids,” said committee president Geraldine Brooks.
“We found ourselves talking to each other about it and realised we all felt the same way, so we decided we were going to do something about it.”
The group consulted local primary and secondary schools and, with the help of a designer, came up with a blueprint for the new park. However, coming up with the money for the project was always going to be a challenge.
After years of lobbying, the group finally raised enough to go ahead with the first stage of the development, after receiving $175,000 from the State Government and $140,000 from Brimbank City Council.
However, with the entire project estimated to cost almost a million dollars, Ms Brooks says the funding is just a drop in the ocean compared with the amount the group had hoped to receive.
“I think Brimbank is an area that has routinely missed out on funding for parks and spaces … unfortunately we have some councillors who are not interested in representing the needs of people in the area.”
Ms Brooks said the responsibility for creating recreational facilities should lie with local government and not be left to the community.
“I think we should have an input, but the funding should really come from our taxes,” she said.
The mother of three said the committee had applied for a number of grants from philanthropic groups, which they hoped would be successful, but were not holding out great hopes for further council support.
Ms Brooks said the group hoped to raise a further $500,000 to complete the project by the end of the year.
“I see quality parks as being integral to people’s health, but unfortunately, without the funding, the community will miss out.”
To donate to the Ardeer Community Park call 9361 2693.
