The majority of local members of the community young and old , do not want a garden so close to the central business hub of Lindisfarne as is shown by the 500 signatures provided to council. The Esplanade is an area boasting history,  waterside homes and lovely parks – not a community garden site for a tiny group of people wishing to have an external digging area away from their own homes. Tourists, visitors and locals don’t want to be looking at messy plots of vegetables so close to the waterfront and business centre. Beltana Park is currently beautifully presented as well as being a meeting place for adults and their children, the elderly and the local scouts. To dig it up is a disgraceful use of public property for which it was not intended. Vandals, on the other hand, as per the Kingston Community Garden destroyed this week, will view this as an easy target or an easy meal as will the ducks and the possums. The only way to secure the garden would be high cyclone fences which would further degrade the parks appearance and provide even more of an eyesore.

I hope the council gains an accurate measure of local community sentiment and does not act on fabricated information presented by an aggressive minority. A community garden would be a good idea in a much less visible location, away from the business and tourist centre where it won’t be visible to every passerby. Taroona and Lenah Valley have their community gardens well away from public view for aesthetic and security reasons. Placing a community plot in Beltana Park is akin to placing one in Franklin Square or the front lawn of the Council Chambers.

Please sign if you are against this proposal in Beltana Park