Together with Lord Mayor Clover Moore, I have written to the Premier and Minister for Public Spaces about the unsolicited proposal to redevelop the former showgrounds site. Clover Moore’s 1992 private member’s bill stopped plans to rezone, sell and develop the site and when in 1995 the lease was signed to turn it into a film and television production facility, the then government promised to return the site to the community when the lease expired. The current leaseholder is seeking a 99-year lease which is essentially freehold. While the existing Entertainment Quarter is not a good use of the site, that does not justify commercial intensification.

The surrounding populations are skyrocketing and existing open and recreation space is already at capacity; the former showground site provides a rare opportunity to establish new space for public recreation facilities. Our letters: HERE and below.