Jill Loorham, Castlemaine
Along with Hans Paas, Nigel Meeks and Tony Bell, I am dismayed at the shire council’s plans to replace the playground in Victory Park with a new playground, euphemistically called a ‘play space’.
Over 13 years, I have enjoyed time in Victory Park with my daughters and grandchildren, who have all enjoyed the park, as it is. It is a quietly understated area of garden with a perfectly sensible and enjoyable playground for young children.
There is a saying ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, which is completely appropriate in the context of spending ratepayers’ money, in this instance, unwisely.
Our lovely botanical gardens have a wonderful playground, which was desperately needed when it was built. The playground attracts families and adults in droves on lovely days. As a 70-year-old person, I have swung high on the swings and rocked to and fro in the hammock, on many occasions.
I suggest the council uses the funds to start a shade-tree planting program throughout Castlemaine that will, in the long term, be far more beneficial to all current and future citizens of all ages, rather than building an inappropriate and unnecessary new ‘play space’ in Victory Park.
