By Louise Bettison, Hills Gazette
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Thrilled with progress in Fleming Reserve are young Cayden White with, from left, Cr Martyn Cresswell, mum Michelle, sister Madison and Tania Belletty in the background.
WHEN Michelle White took her children down the street to Fleming Reserve on Thursday, she was thrilled to find evidence that the revitalisation she fought for was finally in progress.
The 58,736sqm reserve in High Wycombe is the largest in the area, but avoided by young families because of its litter, broken glass, antisocial behaviour and minimal play equipment.
“The playground was crappy and had no shade, making it too hot most of the year for kids to use,” Ms White said. “It always looked hopeless, but then they took the large pine trees away, and that was the final straw.”
Sick of driving to parks in Belmont or Ascot, in 2007, she called on Kalamunda Shire Council to act. She garnered the support of former shire officer Tania Belletty, Cr Martyn Cresswell and other residents.
By demonstrating the extent of antisocial behaviour at Fleming Reserve, which included letting off explosives and lighting fires, Ms Belletty secured Office of Crime Prevention seed funding of $20,000 and Council added $5000 for initial consultations.
“Then Michelle found a lot of money for public open space that had just been sitting in the shire budget,” Ms Belletty said.
“The Department of Local Government and Regional Development contributed $96,500, and at that point, Council committed $630,000 plus another $300,000 in the last budget.”
Their efforts started bearing fruit in the past fortnight: the remaining trees have been treated by injection for dieback, pathways pegged and concrete paving is about to begin.
“The revitalisation project is now on track, with just some decisions to go on landscaping and playground equipment to suit different age groups, something parents told us they wanted,” Ms Belletty said.
