The resident who wants you to help stop an oval revamp: resident wants to stop $5.4m Norwood Oval upgrade
A RESIDENT in Adelaide’s inner east is trying to stop a planned multimillion dollar revamp of a suburban oval and wants public help to fund his fight. Work was meant to start almost 12 months ago.
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A RESIDENT is calling for public donations to fund his legal fight to block a multimillion dollar redevelopment of Norwood Oval.
Peter Fairlie-Jones ays he needs to raise about $15,000 to mount a “strong case” to the Environment, Resources and Development (ERD) Court to overturn the project’s approval.
In a letter last week to local residents and businesses, Mr Fairlie-Jones said the $5.4 million plan to replace the oval’s Baulderstone Stand with a new grandstand, 180-person capacity function room and a bar would have a “significant detrimental impact” on traffic and parking in the area.
“We need to fund this case which, if we win, will benefit everyone surrounding the oval,” Mr Fairlie-Jones’s letter stated.
“We believe we have a strong case to defeat or modify the proposed development.
“We are not belligerent trouble makers; we simply seek to achieve a good planning outcome which gives Norwood Football Club a home while protecting residential properties from late-night noise and anti-social behaviour.”
Mr Fairlie-Jones last week said donations to the “Norwood Oval appeal” would go towards hiring lawyers and “expert witnesses” — including planning and traffic experts — to argue his case in court.
Mr Fairlie-Jones launched the ERD Court appeal after the state’s Development Assessment Commission (DAC) approved the plans for The Parade ground in December.
The residents met lawyers for Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Council, which owns the oval, for court-ordered mediation in January, but failed to reach a compromise.
The appeal is the latest setback to threaten the redevelopment, which also includes refurbishing change rooms, administration offices and toilets in the Sir Edwin T Smith Stand.
Work on the upgrade was meant to start almost 12 months ago but was delayed after Glynde resident Philip Groves lodged a complaint with the council about its $2 million contribution to the project.
In January, Norwood Football Club president Paul Di Iulio told the Eastern Courier Messenger he was disappointed by the appeal, but remained confident it would not derail plans to deliver Redlegs fans a “spiritual home” in time for the start of 2018 SANFL season.
Mr Di Iulio and NP & SP Mayor Robert Bria declined to comment on the appeal.
However, Mr Di Iulio reaffirmed the importance of the development.
“I think that there are a lot of benefits in having an inclusive facility for the club and the community,” he said.
The ERD Court was scheduled to set a date for the hearing when the parties met for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, after the Eastern Courier Messenger’s deadline.