Impact of events on Adelaide's Victoria Square to be subject to City Council review

The environmental impact of special events in Adelaide's Victoria Square will be reviewed by Adelaide City Council as its workers lay fresh turf after the Fringe festival and Tour Down Under cycling.

Lord Mayor Martin Haese yesterday (23rd March) told 891 ABC Adelaide he could not disagree with people who said the square now looked like a dustbowl.

Lord Mayor Haese “we have some work to do, there's no doubt about that.

"Scorched earth would probably be a (term) that would come to mind."

The Lord Mayor said the area should be restored to its regular appearance in the next four weeks, adding "I'm happy to say that the council team are already on the job and they've already started works ... to repatriate the turf.

"We've had two and a half months of fairly intensive usage of Victoria Square, with the Tour Down Under starting in January and taking us right through to last week with the completion of the Royal Croquet Club so that does put pressure on Victoria Square.

"It's a balancing act I'd suggest. We've attracted a great deal of people to the city, we've put the state on the world stage, we've done a whole number of things but as we've done that of course Victoria Square's taken a little bit of a shellacking."

Adelaide City Council includes repatriation costs as part of the hiring fees for public spaces.

Lord Mayor Haese suggested that the Council would review its hiring guidelines for Victoria Square to ensure it was using the space effectively.

He concluded "Victoria Square is first and foremost a public space.

"We've got to find that balance between continuing to bring our city to life, attracting people to the city, attracting tourists, filling up hotels but also respecting our public spaces."

Image: Twitter/Kerry Seebohm

27th January 2015 - TOUR DOWN UNDER ORGANISERS WANT TO KEEP JANUARY DATE

28th January 2014 - REVAMPED VICTORIA SQUARE TAKING SHAPE AS EVENTS HUB