We’ve kept our peace long enough on this. I’ve just been to the Ferny Grove Markets and it is the final straw.
The social capital destruction that has been undertaken at Ferny Grove Station in the name of ‘giving something to Ferny Grove’ is sheer vandalism.
The social capital that was associated with the Ferny Grove Tavern and all that meant for the lives of the generations of people who have networked and socialised and had a sense of belonging there has been flattened and bulldozed.
Now our precious Ferny Grove Markets are coming in for equally insensitive jack-booted treatment. The Market is down there this morning shunted off to the far end of the whole Station parking precinct onto a ghastly area of soft stony sticky rutted asphalt behind a screen of fences and vans. The area where the Market has been held has been taken over by the workmen working on the Station Precinct. The Station Precinct development has huge signs saying it is there but they have assigned the Ferny Grove Markets to an almost invisible section up the far end without signage to make obvious that they are there not just swept off the face of the earth.
When we walked around the Markets stalls which had built up good regular businesses such as the vege seedling stall were assigned to the far end of the Market and looked as if they probably hadn’t sold a seedling all morning. It is like thugs have taken a sledge-hammer to these precious local businesses who give us so much service and pleasure so loyally every week.
We are told that the Ferny Grove Station Precinct will be a great thing for The Grove. Quite frankly I remain to be convinced that there will be any benefit for The Grove but right now there is an unacceptable amount of damage to what were valuable local resources that were part of giving this community amenity and life. It is as if someone just came in and robbed the community of $500000 or more worth of community assets. I just cannot believe the lack of valuing our community life that we are being treated to.