By DANE LILLINGSTONE
ANGRY Allora residents are up in arms over the Southern Downs Regional Council’s plans for rationalisation of their community park.
The Darling Street War Memorial park has had a sign erected by the council inviting suggestions for the future use of the space.
Local resident Melba Morris has led her community’s call for any future plans for redevelopment of the area to be thrown out the window.
“There’s been a lot of interest in it lately, and people here are very anxious about this around here. Very anxious,” she said.
The main sticking point for residents is the future of the war memorial. Erected at the conclusion of World War II, the 1945 memorial includes a large arch and brick pillars with large bronze medallions on top.
“The council told us that you can’t have two war memorials in the town and look after them. I spoke to them (the council) yesterday. They said it could be (used for) reducing services, changing services, exploring leasing opportunities through EOI, reducing the size, subdividing, relocation or selling. They are hitting the little towns and (they) get away with it,” Ms Morris said.
Councillor Vic Pennisi says the process will not be taken lightly or be rushed into.
“We have no formal plans for this area, and will wait for the consultation phase of this process before a recommendation is made for council to consider,” he said.
“If we did know the answer, the consultation would truly be of no value. We may need to extend consultation in some cases, and until we hear from people this will be difficult to gauge. One thing we would like to do is to move the memorial arch to the back of memorial park, however we will be contacting family members before any of this can be considered further. It is important that residents send in their submissions so that a meaningful engagement can take place,” Cr Pennisi said.
There are over 160 parks controlled by the Southern Downs Regional Council with a large number of parks currently being put through a series of feasibility tests with the possibility of rationalisation.
