COLES Myer wants to redevelop the park in Spring Square Hallam and make it into a BiLo supermarket with a car park.
It wants to disturb the peaceful, tranquil hamlet of Hallam, which is used on a daily basis by a lot of people for leisure and recreational purposes.
Spring Square is last small park in central Hallam. I am a 76yearold pensioner and my wife and I have used the park for 35 years both for our own children and also for our grandchildren.
The park was donated by Jean Skidmore 50 years ago for the people of Hallam and so it should stay a community park and not become a business venture for those in search of profitability.
Why do they want to build another supermarket? We already have five nearby.
Money seems to be the only thing that counts nowadays. It seems to me that every big business just wants to make more and more profit no matter what the cost is to the community. They will just keep pushing until they get what they want.
What about the small shops around Spring Square? How long do you think they would last a month, a year?
They may as well just pack up and leave if this project goes ahead. Let them have the opportunity to continue to make a living.
The community likes the village atmosphere as it is and would be destroyed forever should this project go ahead.
Let the councillors make the right decision for the people they represent and let them withstand the pressure from the big companies and may commonsense prevail.
Martin Martens,
Hallam.
Meteors again
I AM not sure what happened to the last investigation of where to relocate the meteorite replicas in Cranbourne.
However, good on Cr Kevin Bradford for again raising the issue.
My suggestion of placing the replicas was to do away with the large monkey bar they hang from and actually place them on the ground down at the swamp lookout.
People do get out of their cars down there for a walk around and climb the lookout.
They do not have to hang from an unattractive structure.
There is also the Tooradin island and foreshore, which is looking better each year with lots of locals and others stopping there for a rest and look around.
I’m not sure if Janet Halsall would want them at the botanical gardens being replicas, but you could always ask.
Geoff Cousins,
Cranbourne.
ON behalf of the residents of Conway Court, Cranbourne, we all would like to thank Cr Kevin Bradford on the top job he did in rectifying the problem of the two street names.
It’s great to see we have a councillor who spent so much of his own time and effort with this problem.
From the residents of Conway Court, please accept our thanks.
Margaret and Alan Millerick,
Cranbourne.
Casey Boulevard?
IS IT necessary to change Narre Warren/Cranbourne and Narre Warren North Road to Casey Boulevard?
This proposed change by Cr Ben Clissold has placed community residents in the north and south at odds with each other.
At a recent council meeting, it was noted this same road had three names, the Narre Warren Cranbourne Road from South Gippsland Highway to Fullard Road, Narre Warren North Road from Fullard Road to Belgrave Hallam Road and Belgrave Hallam Road to Belgrave.
Whether this road has one or three names is irrelevant, as the original name of the road should be retained as a permanent fixture.
What is the real reason Cr Clissold is pursuing this issue?
Was the proposal of this motion to impress the residents and ratepayers of Springfield or simply to cover over the controversy of his overseas trip to the United Kingdom, due to be taken in July 2005?
Cr Clissold, like other politically associated councillors, should know better than to waste valued ratepayer funds.
Perhaps Cr Clissold and his mates should pay for the name change from their own pockets and personal savings.
Paul Richardson,
Endeavour Hills.
Labor voice
I WRITE to thank Pastor Max Walker for his comments (News, 21 July) and to respond on an important issue to he and all readers.
Pastor Walker said that residents should not be too selfish in outlining local issues, and yes, there are many local issues that affect us all, from roads to public transport, education to health.
But the abundance of local issues that affect us all should not deter for one moment an elected representative from representing the community in State Parliament, and should never be used as an excuse.
We elect our parliamentarians at every election to be our community leaders, to be our voice in parliament.
The fact that Labor has many representatives at Spring Street should not deter the opportunity for any MP, from any political party to stand up and speak out on issues that affect the community.
The fact that Labor currently has a stranglehold in South East Melbourne should be a concern to the majority of electors. However, the fact that they are reluctant to represent the community in parliament should be a concern to all.
Gary Anderton,
Hampton Park.
