A WOMAN whose husband fought to save a Bundoora park has welcomed the release of plans to revamp the area.
Patricia Maundrell’s husband Greg Maundrell was vocal in the campaign to save the playground at Cabernet Crescent, but died last August.
Ms Maundrell said her husband would have been delighted to see the redesign of the park, which followed a reprieve after the Whittlesea council said it would sell the land for a high care centre for people with brain injuries.
The tight-knit local community galvanised to fight the sale of the park last year, gathering more than 100 signatures in support. They argued children would have to cross busy roads to reach the nearest park if the area was redeveloped.
The revamp of the much-loved park at 137 Cabernet Crescent will include a playground with swing set and slides; a pedestrian path, an open grassed area, new seats and indigenous shade trees and garden beds. The work should be completed by the end of May.
Mrs Maundrell said her two children, now 18 and 24, had played there throughout their childhood, and the park was a favourite with local small children and elderly citizens, particularly with grandparents caring for children.
“Greg would have been really really happy to find that out,” she said.
“It’s nice to know that as the kids get older and maybe come home with their own children, they’ll be able to return to the park they played at as children.”
The block once included a swing set, monkey bars and slide until the council removed them. Since then it has had no equipment or seats.
