Delivering for Alma Ward
New Parks for St Kilda East
In my work with the Port Phillip Emergency Climate Action Network, I engaged with the council staff and councillors to advocate for the under-served areas of Port Phillip, including St Kilda East and Balaclava.
So far, this advocacy has delivered $10m of investment in new parks in our area:
• Purchase of land for a new park in Lansdowne St (north of Alma Rd)
• Purchase of land for a new park in Lansdowne St (south of Alma Rd)
• Purchase of land to expand Jim Duggan Reserve
• Purchase of land to expand Pakington St Reserve
The key aspects of this work were in response to the City of Port Phillip’s Public Space Strategy.
We drafted a submission in response to the strategy, with a focus on improving access to public open space in St Kilda East and Balaclava. These areas have only 5% open space, compared to 17% to 27% across the rest of Port Phillip.
My advocacy for the people of St Kilda East and Balaclava included:
• discussions with local community
• written submissions to council
• attendance at council meetings
• meetings with councillors
• engagement with council staff
• meetings with the council CEO
We proposed targeted land acquisition across St Kilda East and Balaclava (see the attached map). Our acquisition proposals were based on analysis of existing public open space, park expansion opportunities, unique land acquisition opportunities, and access to nearby open space.
As a result of our advocacy, the City of Port Phillip has implemented a public space acquisition program. The program will purchase land in key areas to improve access to open space.
The first acquisition in response to our submission is the purchase of 43 Pakington St, Balaclava, which will allow the expansion of the Pakington St Reserve.
Several other purchases are underway, delivering more open space to St Kilda East. Stay tuned for announcements of these exciting developments. However, these acquisitions are not enough to address the lack of public open space in St Kilda East and Balaclava, and we need to keep investing in public space across our neighbourhood.
Prahran High School
In 2015, myself, several other local parents, and community leaders established the School For Prahran group to advocate for a new high school in Prahran. Through this group, we successfully lobbied the newly elected Labor Government to fund this much-needed school.
Following the school’s announcement, I joined the school’s New School Planning group as a parent representative. Over several years, we contributed to the school’s design and the development of its curriculum.
Now, 7 years later, my kids are fortunate to attend this modern and innovative school.
Green Line Linear Park
While researching the lack of public space through St Kilda East and Balaclava, I developed a proposal to activate the reserves alongside the Sandringham Line rail corridor; the Green Line.
The Green Line initially covered just Port Phillip from Alma Park to Ripponlea, but we soon connected with Rewilding Stonnington and the Glen Eira Climate Action Network (GECAN) to extend the proposal north to South Yarra and south to Elsternwick.
The Green Line will deliver improvements in:
• public accessibility along the Green Line route
• walking and cycling connection from South Yarra to Gardenvale
• increased tree canopy cover
• bio-diversity support through indigenous (and suitable) planting, and dedicated corridor for wildlife along the rail line route
• permeability of water by replacing on-street parking with planting reserves and permeable paving
• integration with urban densification precincts along the rail corridor
The Green Line project has gained widespread support, and has achieved funding and commitments:
• initial funding from the City of Port Phillip
• funding from the Federal Government for a Stonnington section
• integration into the Elsternwick Structure plan, with planning underway for the first section along Ripon Grove
Whether I’m elected or not, I’ll continue to advocate to improve amenity though Port Phillip, to activate underutilized land. and to provide walkable connections between activity centres.