Mercedes College pushing to keep oval earmarked for apartments under Glenside redevelopment
AN Adelaide school is pushing for an oval earmarked for eight-storey apartments to be kept as open space so kids can play cricket and football on it — as they used to.
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MERCEDES College is pushing for an oval at the former Glenside Hospital site — earmarked for eight-storey apartments — to be kept as open space.
Principal Peter Daw said the Springfield school was prepared to pay to maintain the oval for its football and cricket teams.
The school used the oval until 2010 when the State Government announced it would use the site for an expansion of the Frewville shopping centre.
Those plans were abandoned in 2013.
“Sport is a really important thing for young people and to be removing space or minimising it where they can play or do competitive sport seems to be against everything you read about childhood obesity,” Mr Daw said.
“There are limited sites to play competitive sport and this would not just be for us but for everyone in the community.”
Mercedes’ own oval is not large enough for full-size Australian rules or cricket matches.
Since 2010, the school’s teams have been based at Flinders University but the Glenside site is closer.
Plans for the 17ha Glenside Hospital site released for public consultation last month by Renewal SA and Cedar Woods Properties allow only for open space in the northwestern corner of the site, where there is a stormwater basin, and in a strip along Fullarton Rd.
Under the plan, the oval would be covered in eight-storey apartments.
Eastwood resident John Schneider, who fought against the Frewville shopping centre development as part of the Burnside Save Open Spaces group, met with Mr Daw last week to discuss the issue.
Mr Schneider said it was important the oval was retained.
“We’re losing another oval and there’s a shortage of ovals in the eastern suburbs,” Mr Schneider said.
Renewal SA chief executive John Hanlon said his agency had received a detailed proposal from Mercedes College about using Glenside Oval for school sport.
“As a matter of courtesy, we will respond to the school directly rather than through the media,” Mr Hanlon said.
Earlier this month, Cedar Woods development director Patrick Archer said trees, open space, sustainability and heritage buildings were “strong features” of the preliminary masterplan.
“We’re keen to show our preliminary masterplan to the community and get further feedback to help us refine and enhance the plan,” Mr Archer said.
Consultation on the Glenside plan is open until Sunday, December 20.