Charles Sturt Council overturns its move to push for St Clair Reserve to be turned into a war memorial park CHARLES Sturt Council has overturned its decision to lobby the State Government to preserve St Clair Reserve on Woodville Rd as a war memorial park. A motion to renege support for the memorial park passed 8:7 at the council's meeting on Monday, May 13, prompting emotional outbursts from veterans in the gallery who had lobbied for the park to be preserved. Former MP Kevin Hamilton, who made a deputation to the meeting, said the council should honour a 1942 petition for a war memorial at the park. "I will use everything I can politically to try and obtain a positive resolution in line with what should occur should occur at that location," Mr Hamilton said. Woodville ward Cr Robert Grant said he was disheartened the council had withdrawn its support for the memorial park. "The effect of that vote is that council has desecrated the memory of every person who has fought for this country," Cr Grant said. But Henley ward councillor Cr Jim Fitzpatrick told the meeting calls for the reserve to be retained as a memorial park were being made by people who wanted to stop the development. "It (the claims) is disgraceful and it is not respectful to the veterans, we need to show them respect and not be misled by a few protesters," Cr Fitzpatrick said. The State Government plans to use the 4.7ha piece of land to build a transit orientated development with about 300 homes, shops and offices, next to a revamped Woodville train station. The project is separate to the 1200-home St Clair housing development being built next door on the former Cheltenham Racecourse. Councillor Tolley Wasylenko, who moved the motion to overturn the council's April decision to support the park's preservation, said he was in favour of building a memorial in St Clair Reserve, but on land owned by the council, not the State Government. A vote on his motion to set aside 4.3ha of council-owned land within the St Clair precinct along Woodville Rd as a war memorial was deferred until the next council meeting on Monday, May 27.