Botanic High School Expansion

Just before the State election campaign in early 2022, the then-Premier Steven Marshall, announced that Botanic High School, on Frome Road in Park 11, would be expanded by about 50%, with a new $98 million, eight-storey wing, effectively obliterating what little remained of Open Green Public space along the eastern side of Frome Road - i.e. it would decimate Frome Park/ Nellie Raminyemmerin Park.

This is an artist’s impression that was released on 22 January 2022:

Before the State election on 19 March 2022, the Labor Party matched the Liberal policy; so at the election both major parties were equally committed to building an 8-storey high school building here on this Park. Neither party suggested any alternative brownfield site.

Although this land is part of your Adelaide Park Lands, the area was subject to a Park Lands re-zoning in January 2022 by the outgoing former Liberal State Government.

On 12 July 2022, the City Council voted to transfer or sell the land to the State Government to allow the school expansion; subject to negotiations on a yet-to-be-identified land swap deal.

At the time, the Government claimed that despite construction of a new eight-storey building on your Park Lands, that there would be no net loss of Park Lands!

This was at best misleading, if not an outright lie; as subsequent events have proved.

On 13 October 2022, the Council agreed to accept the Government’s proposed land swap: to hand over this site to the State Government for its proposed high school, in return for a slightly larger parcel of your Park Lands within Helen Mayo Park on the Torrens Riverbank.

Images: From 9 News, 14 October 2022

This is the result:

• the City Council gets an additional area of existing Park Lands to manage; and

• the State Government gets a similar area of Park Lands that it intends to destroy, under a new eight-storey building.

Although there is to be a net gain (of 91 square metres) in the area of land under the City Council’s control, there is to be a net loss of your Park Lands, almost immediately, with construction of the new High School building due to commence in November 2022.

The City Council did not have to agree to this. Being in caretaker mode, immediately prior to local government elections, the Council could simply have deferred the decision to the incoming Council, that was to have been elected in less than a month.

However, on 13 October 2022, the so-called Team Adelaide faction on the Council voted to seal the deal, without even approving any community consultation.

Facing this loss of your Park Lands, three members of the outgoing Council walked out of the chamber, in protest. Councillors Phillip Martin, Anne Moran, and Keiran Snape were in the minority and hence unable to stop the Park sale.

The death of 1,000 cuts

Repeated Park Lands losses were once characterised as like "mice nibbling away at cheese".   However recent attacks seem more like a debaucherous feast with participants devouring whatever is available, while it lasts.

The rate of Park Lands loss seems set to ratchet up exponentially unless the public can be alerted to save what's really precious and priceless.

There are many other sites within Adelaide Park Lands that are under imminent threat, or current attack.

If you think Adelaide can do better than this, then TAKE ACTION!