Magpies Shirtfronted By Council Over Paddock

The Age

Thursday April 24, 2008

Cameron Houston, city reporter

COLLINGWOOD Football Club is under fire from Melbourne City Council over its use of Gosch's Paddock, which has squeezed local sporting clubs and community groups off the historic ground.

But the council and State Government have also been criticised for approving a request by Collingwood to erect sponsors' boards around the oval, on the corner of Punt Road and Swan Street, despite objections from local residents.

The council moved to transfer control of the public reserve to the Melbourne Olympic Parks Trust last year, which relocated Collingwood to Gosch's Paddock when development began on the new soccer and rugby league stadium. The Olympic Park trust no longer accepts public bookings for the ground, after concerns about the drought's impact on the playing surface.

Council planning spokeswoman Catherine Ng said she was given an assurance that Gosch's Paddock would be available for public sporting events.

"This is a ridiculous situation. Melbourne ratepayers have paid for the maintenance of the ground for years and now it seems to have become a private asset of the Collingwood Football Club," Cr Ng said.

But the club's chief executive, Gary Pert, said the club had made a substantial financial contribution to the Olympic Park precinct, which benefited the broader community. "I drive past that ground and I see kids kicking footies and people walking dogs at all hours of the day," Mr Pert said.

Former planning director of Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, Geoff Harris, said urban consolidation had placed huge pressure on inner-city open spaces. "Leasing to a private organisation is the first step in the alienation of public land and is consistent with the gradual erosion of Melbourne's parks and gardens," he said.

Trust chief executive Brian Morris said the ground was an elite training facility that was under stress from water restrictions and over-use.

"While there is no booking schedule at the moment . . . Collingwood use the ground for a couple of hours each day for training sessions, and other than that, the public are free to use it," he said.

© 2008 The Age

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