THIS Saturday a group of parents and students will be handing out leaflets to the public attending the AFL Giants v Geelong match at the Manuka Oval asking them to send a message to ACT Chief Minister Barr demanding that he return land taken from the local public school in a secret land-grab earlier this year.
The Telopea Park Parents & Citizens Association has organized the action after months of campaigning for a reversal of the decision over the land.
“We are currently faced with the reality of bulldozers arriving at the school in December to destroy our historic tennis courts and make way for the eventual development and sale of this section of our school, an irreversible step that will irrevocably damage our school,” Telopea P&C President Mr Paul Haesler said.
“Consequently we are now appealing directly to the public to assist us in convincing Chief Minister Barr to reverse the government’s decision and return our land.
“Without informing or consulting the school community, the ACT Government did a secret land-grab removing a section of playing fields from Telopea Park School early in 2015 as the first step of a complex land swap surrounding the Manuka Oval. The land taken consists of change rooms and four tennis courts that date back to the 1920s.
“The Government’s intention is to move the MOCCA childcare center on Flinders Way in Manuka to the tennis courts and move the Canberra Services Club located adjacent to Manuka Oval to where MOCCA is currently located on Flinders Way. These changes, if they occur, will enable the further commercial development of Manuka Oval, which is situated across the road from Telopea Park School.
“The Telopea Park School community supports Manuka’s “urban renewal” and events at Manuka Oval, but opposes the sale of the school’s tennis courts land.
“Selling the school’s historic tennis courts and significantly reducing the open space available to children attending our school to rehousing the Canberra Services Club and develop Manuka Oval is an outrageous decision.
“The land in question was originally transferred to the public school in the 1970s in recognition of the schools growing population of students, which is continuing to grow today. The importance of this land to the already-crowded school was confirmed by the ACT Government in 2008 with the issuing of a Crown Lease.
“We want to see the decision that led to the loss of the school’s land reversed, and our community campaign to Save Telopea Sports Fields will continue until that is so,” said Mr Haesler.
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