A Green Adelaide Grassroots grant in 2024 has made possible very interesting transformations for the disused netball court at McConnell reserve west.

The grant funded the installation of sixteen wicking beds placed on the old court to showcase local bush tucker plants supplied by Warraparinga Cultural Centre and native coastal shrubs. Surrounding the court, the Hilltop Hub volunteers along with Marion Council staff have also planted a diverse range of native coastal shrubs

The grant included a 6 metre long concrete path to enable easier wheelchair and walking frame access.

A significant outcome in 2025 was the signing of the DOA with Marion Council to create the McConnell Community Native Garden.

The grant has been the catalyst for many other benefits: increased community recognition with the popular Neighbour Day picnic each March, involvement with other gardening groups, educational workshops and an arts grant.

The grant and the volunteers’ hard work have succeeded in increasing the biodiversity of flora and fauna of McConnell reserve into a cooler, greener space for the enjoyment of the community.

The 5049 Coastal Community Association has lodged its formal submission on the City of Holdfast Bay’s Draft 2026-27 Annual Business Plan, offering a range of observations and recommendations on behalf of the Seacliff and Kingston Park community.

Rates and Financial Position

The Association acknowledges the Essential Services Commission SA’s broadly favourable assessment of the Business Plan and welcomes the improvement in Council’s Net Financial Liabilities ratio, which has reduced from 111% to 97%.

However, we note that the proposed rate rise of 6.6% exceeds the 5.4% figure previously advised to the commission. We reiterate its recommendation that a rate cap of less than 10% be introduced and applied automatically — consistent with the approach taken by other South Australian councils.

Capital Investment in Seacliff and Kingston Park

A significant concern raised in the submission is the limited prospect of new capital projects in the Seacliff Ward over the next three to five years, reflecting the financial pressures associated with the Transforming Jetty Road Glenelg project.

Against this backdrop we are calling for Stage 2 of Seacliff Plaza to be designated as Council’s top funding priority. The project would deliver improved beach access, greening, and a more cohesive public precinct — completing a vision already outlined in Council’s existing Masterplan.

Kingston Park Coastal Reserve and Other Priorities

The submission welcomes news that Tulukutangga (Kingston Park Coastal Reserve) Masterplan is approaching Ministerial approval, while noting the substantial funding gap. The gap is estimated at $5–10 million against the $700,000 currently available, this will need to be bridged for works to proceed. We are hopeful that State and Federal funding can be secured to progress key elements, including the restoration of the Tjilbruke Spring.

Other matters addressed in the submission include the Brighton Road tree replacement program, the proposed relocation of the Rifles Monument, community project suggestions for Seacliff Plaza and Singleton Bridge, and the long-term reimagining of Brighton Village and Brighton Road.

Read the Full Submission Here

On Sunday April 12th a bunch of garden enthusiasts braved a cold windy morning at the garden to be inspired by a seed propagation workshop.

It was ably led by Natt Giffney from Green Adelaide and Glenn Christie from Succession Ecology. They demonstrated a variety of different native seeds and various ways to collect them. They then planted 6 rows of different seeds and also showed us how to water them.

We were told both the botanical name in latin and the common name in English .
The seeds included mealy saltbush, boobiala, black-headed grass, old man saltbush, native juniper and coastal seaberry. Some have already sprouted and will be planted out into small pots and eventually into the garden.

If you would like to come to further workshops at the garden please email hilltophubatmcconnell@gmail.com

Sunshine, laughter, guitar music, sizzling sausages, scarecrows, roses, conversations and native plants all came together to make a wonderful Neighbour Day at McConnell Community Native Garden on Sunday 29th March.

Young children were entranced by the Kpop queen, Rumi and families made amazing scarecrows from straw and recycled clothing. Others focussed on chalk drawn mandalas on the ashphalt surround the wicking beds.

Neighbours new and old enjoyed each other’s company and enthusiastically bought raffle tickets to win local restaurant vouchers, plants, flowers, garden essentials, or home made preserves. Everyone relished the delicious BBQ sausages and veggie kebabs cooked to perfection by the 5049 volunteers from the Neighbour Trailer.

Local, state and federal politicians visited to enjoy the festivities as well as to admire the native garden progress and meet over 150 locals.
Congratulations to everyone involved and thanks to the City of Marion events grant, which made for a very successful and well attended event.

The Hilltop Hub Community and McConnell Reserve Native Community Garden groups have advocated hard to keep McConnell Reserve West in Marino in public hands.  The local community formed the native garden on the western side last year and have put in many hours of work.

Our local community rallied at short notice over the March long weekend and were successful in saving the reserve again, after Counsellor Crossland made another attempt to cash in community land.

Thank you to the many councillors who did not support this motion and the community who rallied for a cause.  It’s so important to keep community land in community hands

Congratulations to our beautiful Marino community for sticking up for public land

We look forward to celebrating with you at our Neighbour Day picnic on March 29th.  All welcome.

Thanks to a Green Adelaide grant, to cool and green the western side of McConnell Reserve, 50 bush tucker plants have been installed into the wicking beds.

Plants were provided by Mark Calyx from the Kaurna Cultural Centre and are endemic to the region eg muntries for fruit and coastal rosemary for seasoning.

Families including children were enthusiastic helpers on the planting day.

The Hilltop Hub group are a friendly bunch of residents, always welcoming any assistance in maintaining this unique project. Regular working bees are held every second Sunday of each month 9-11.30 am.

Thanks to the City of Marion community garden team for their support.

Holdfast Bay Council ignores the wishes of residents.

Approves plan which will double debt to $60 Million

A big thankyou to 5049CCA members who responded to our “Call to Action” and attended the Holdfast Bay Council meeting on 25 June, when the Council’s 2024-25 Business Plan (Budget), including the Jetty Road, Glenelg upgrade, was voted on.

Thanks also to those who took the time to indicate their position in our survey which asked the simple question: “Do you support the $40 million Jetty Road, Glenelg upgrade project based on the funding model proposed?” Almost 1400 residents (rate payers) in Holdfast Bay responded to the survey with an overwhelming majority of 92% saying NO.

Given the community’s strong opposition to the project funding model our Association and the Holdfast Bay Resident’s Association (HBRA) worked hard to affect the outcome of the vote. Read my deputation to the Council meeting on this page.

Council chose to ignore the views of the majority of residents and voted to approve the budget, including the Transforming Jetty Road project. The only councillor who voted against it was our Seacliff Ward Councilor, Annette Bradshaw. We thank Annette for her support.

We met with our other Elected Members in Seacliff Ward, Clare Lindop and Susan Lonie, prior to the meeting with the hope that they too, would vote against it. We are very disappointed that they decided to support the budget, although we note that Clare did move an amendment to reduce the capital commitment, but this was not successful..

5049CC and HBRA are considering what further actions we can take. A letter was prepared on our behalf by Botten Levinson Lawyers and submitted to Council immediately prior to the meeting. The letter raised a number of legal concerns and stated that any decision of the Council to adopt the 2024-25 Annual Business Plan and the Long-Term Financial Plan would be contrary to the Local Government Act and invalid. We are awaiting a response from Council.

We desperately need more volunteers to help our campaign against the council’s decision. if you can help please email us at info@5049coastalcommunity.com

You can also assist the Association by contacting our local councillors and expressing your view on the decision. Their details are below:

David Cruickshanks-Boyd

President 5049 Coastal Community Association

Read David’s Deputation to Council here...

Read HBRA’s Deputation to Council here

City of Holdfast Bay – Seacliff Ward Council Members

Clare Lindop:

The Holdfast Bay Draft Long-Term Financial Plan 2024-2034 has a proposal to borrow an additional $30 million for an upgrade of Jetty Road Glenelg. This will increase the overall debt to approximately $60 million.

This proposal lacks risk management and exposes ratepayers to the largest financial risk the Council has made, $60 million. The new borrowings will be spent on a small proportion of the area of the City of Holdfast Bay.

The public consultation period is 3 weeks and is limited to a Council survey to some 1000 residents and feedback on the Council’s website. Due to the scale of borrowings the Holdfast Bay Residents Association believes a long-term financial plan should be a standalone consultation across the Council area involving all ratepayers.

Answer this simple survey to let us know if you support our campaign to stop this madness.

Read the draft plan and provide your feedback on the City of Holdfast Bay website.

Download our 5049 Coastal Community submission here.

Download the Holdfast Bay Residents Association full statement here.

Check out the campaign flyer here.

Many cities around the world are working towards creating more liveable areas. Here’s a few examples.

Poynton
Poynton in the UK arrived at an innovative solution to their nightmare High Street. They went from 4 to 2 lanes, removed traffic lights and measured a reduction in travel times due to the continuous flow. They also got back valuable public space allowing the High Street to become a community place rather than a thoroughfare for cars and trucks. It is a compelling story.

Watch this video, to see an example of what can be achieved with commitment and imagination.
https://youtu.be/-vzDDMzq7d0

Aurora
Aurora is a road corridor in Seattle, Washington. A group of local residents and businesses have formed a group called the Aurora Reimagined Coalition.
Visit their website here… https://www.got99problems.org/

Le Plessis-Robinson
A suburb of Paris, this town of 30,000 people went through an extensive re-generation from 1989.
Watch this short video to discover more. https://youtu.be/XfonhlM6I7w

Image: AI generated by PIXLR – Architect rendering of a pedestrian friendly urban streetscape 

Our Vision for a New Brighton Village

Imagine you are in 2035. Brighton village is unrecognisable. It has EV charging stations, autonomous vehicles, a new beachy vibe Brighton Road streetscape lined with shade trees. Interesting shops keep popping up alongside places to meet friends. And it will only get better.

Imagine riding your bike or your e-scooter safely down a dedicated cycleway on Brighton Road.

You’re on your way to the shops and roof top gym with views to Adelaide Hills and the Gulf of St Vincent. But first you stop to meet a friend for coffee at one of the new streetside cafes.

The breeze in your hair. Not a care in the world because the cycleway is separated from Brighton Road and is lined by trees.

A boulevard of beach living dreams come true.

The gym you’re going to is on the eastern side of Brighton Rd. As you approach Woolies, where you will do some food shopping after gym, you turn right and down a ramp into the active transport tunnel. On the other side you emerge in front of the new independent cinema before turning left to the apartment block where you park and lock your bike before catching the lift to the Foster Fitness indoor roof top gym and spa.

As the lift takes you to the fourth floor you think it was only last night you were watching a movie with friends and having a beer after on the cinema terrace. Only six years prior you couldn’t even contemplate sipping your drink, laughing with friends while looking out to sea from Brighton Rd. The moon shining across the water was mesmerising.

And on Wednesday night you will meet friends for dinner in a brand new three story building where the old post office used to be with its lonely tree growing out of a neglected patch of grass. Across the road the chicken shop is an apartment building with shops below. One of your friends lives there in a lovely new apartment. She doesn’t have a car because she is in walking distance to everything she needs including the new transport shelters which tell her when the next electric people mover arrives to whisk her quietly to Marion Shopping Centre and beyond.

How will this happen you say? Well with vision and commitment by all of us including Federal, State and Local Government and the community to change Brighton Road from a road that divides the community to one that no longer dominates but safely links the public to places along the way. A design change that allows people and vehicles to have joint ownership of the places they inhabit which in turn attract new economic and social development; whilst still enabling access for all.