Members of the Belmont community are rallying in a desperate attempt to save a strip of green space in their neighbourhood.
With Geelong council poised to decide on whether to sell City-owned land at 5A Dean Street, community advocates have highlighted the space’s value as a place of connection, rest and recreation.
The community group presented a petition with nearly 600 signatures to council last month, imploring councillors to retain the 200m-long strip of green land.
Belmont local Bernice Davies, a member of the group behind the petition, said the community still had “great hope” council would recognise the site’s importance to people in the area.
“Belmont has changed so much in the last couple of decades… we’ve gone from being an outer suburb with lots of space to being basically an inner suburb,” Ms Davies said.
“We need that little bit of green space to walk the dogs, take the kids, to sit and chill. It’s a community asset, pulling the community together.”
“The real value of Geelong is community… the little things that tie people together. (Belmont) is a very vibrant community and if we had a space that we could actually work with, I think we could make it a gem.”
The proposed sell-off of the land is part of a wider council strategy of reducing debt by divesting itself of surplus assets, and while the City initially wanted the land developed for social housing it will simply sell to the highest bidder if council approves the proposal.
Councillor Emma Sinclair attended a gathering of about 50 residents on Saturday to hear their concerns.
She said the decision coming before council at its October meeting would be a “really difficult” one.
“I think there are a few different things at play – we’ve got a housing crisis, we’ve got this debt commitment – but I think the community at Belmont have also spoken really loudly and it’s clear they care deeply about this,” she said.
“I’ve been talking to people every day, trying to explore all the options and make sure that we’re building in everyone’s views.
“So I’m just trying to work with my colleagues and make sure that we’re balancing all of these different needs. But it is a difficult decision ahead of us.”
