Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore is right about the importance of the city’s parklands and the protection of public space at Moore Park.
We at the Entertainment Quarter, within Moore Park, could not agree more. We support reclaiming passive green space, the commitment to a plan for the removal of on-grass parking from Moore Park East and to increasing public space (an additional hectare) for passive recreation and community sports groups.
“Tired” and cut off … Moore Park, the SCG and the Entertainment Quarter. Credit:Wolter Peeters
The Entertainment Quarter (EQ) serves an essential and valuable purpose serving local communities, international entertainment and major event audiences and film and television workers and students. It is the home to Australia’s premier arts and broadcast school, Sydney’s landmark live entertainment venue, world-class stadiums and one of the world’s premier entertainment companies.
To locals, however, EQ “feels tired” and is cut off from the Sydney Cricket Ground, nearby parks and local residents, and is largely visited only on weekends. A recent survey of more than 1000 people by Taverner Research Group showed 63 per cent believed the site is tired and in urgent need of a makeover. As well, 70 per cent of locals supported our initial plans to fix it once and for all.
But why hasn’t it worked before now?
Despite the best of intentions, the EQ precinct has struggled ever since the old Showground site and its buildings were first leased out under the Carr government in 1998. Since then, two other groups (Lendlease, Colonial First State) have tried but been unable to make the precinct viable due to the constraints governing the site.
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We believe that to fulfil its true potential, EQ requires a comprehensive reinvention to provide a precinct that can support and elevate Sydney’s cultural and entertainment industries. It is troubling to hear that some misconceptions could potentially stop an opportunity to invest $2 billion to revitalise EQ and reposition Moore Park as a world-class arts, sporting and entertainment precinct.
We must set the record straight. There is no plan to further commercialise public space. In fact, we are doing the reverse.
How we’ll revive a tired Moore Park precinct and expand green space
Source: Philippines Alive
