Arron Wood pledges to green Pelham St

Long-mooted plans to create a green biodiversity corridor from Carlton Gardens to University Square along Pelham St in Carlton would be realised if Arron Wood becomes Lord Mayor.  

The upcoming City of Melbourne elections have been turned into somewhat of a referendum on Greenline, with Lord Mayoral candidate Arron Wood pledging to scrap the project if elected in October. 

The $315 million revitalisation of the Yarra River’s north bank between Birrarung Marr to the Bolte Bridge was the central project of former Lord Mayor Sally Capp’s election platform, with construction already begun in May this year. 

But while the council adopted a funding strategy for the project just prior to the former Lord Mayor’s departure from Town Hall, its future is anything but secured given the complex nature of land ownership that stretches the length of the north bank. 

Appearing alongside his candidate for Deputy Lord Mayor Erin Deering at Birrarung Marr on August 25, Mr Wood said that if elected, the remaining money unspent on Greenline would be redirected to local “community and sustainability initiatives”. 

One of the six new open space projects proposed under his plan would be a green linear park along Pelham St, which the council most recently identified as a potential “biodiversity corridor” in its master plan for University Square.  

As reported by Inner City News in January, the council also identified Pelham St as a key “connector” and earmarks opportunities for increased permeability and open space in its most recent Carlton Urban Forest Plan (2013-2023). •