Maitland councillors vote Tuesday on selling beloved pocket park
Three councillors seek to stop a pocket park sale. Land records show the council didn't legally own it until 1997.
Maitland councillors vote Tuesday on whether to stop a planned sale of 17 Clift Street. The pocket park has been tended as community space for generations.
The core issue is how the land is classified. Operational land can be sold without public input.
Community land cannot be sold without a public hearing. The council classified the site as operational in 1994.
But residents' land records show the council didn't legally own it until late 1997. That's three years later.
Residents argue that land acquired after the Local Government Act 1993 must become community land. This would require reclassification before any sale.
The council says the land was a drainage reserve from the 1950s. That makes the 1994 classification lawful.
Councillor Amelia Atkinson opposed the sale. She said the block has functioned as community greenspace for generations.
Residents are gathering petition signatures and seeking legal advice.
- 17 Clift Street
- Property address
- Tuesday October 6 at 5:30pm
- Vote date and time
- 1950s subdivision plan
- Original drainage reserve
Why it mattersIf residents are wrong about the land classification, the park faces a threat. Decades of community maintenance won't protect it from being sold.
AustraliaA Maitland community's fight to keep a local park signals broader risk for Australian towns where greenspace ownership is ambiguous.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 1 h ago
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