Sport & Spinal Physiotherapy was featured recently in the Canberra Times in response to letter of concern written to government. This abridged article highlights our concern, along with many other business owners in the Melbourne Building, of the governments’ plans to close the London Circuit Carpark adjacent to the Melbourne Building. The carpark has been earmarked to be closed for 4 years and to be used as a compound during tram construction.

A copy of our letter of concern was also sent to Alistair Coe, Opposition member and Deputy Leader of the Opposition, with shadow portfolios of Urban Services; Planning & Infrastructure; Transport;  and Heritage. Alistair Coe and ACT Senator, Zed Seselja, visited our practice last week to offer support for the businesses in the Melbourne Building. 

Melbourne Building physiotherapist upset at plans to close London Circuit carpark

by Kirsten Lawson
Published: July 16, 2015 – 11:30PM

A Melbourne Building physiotherapy business has called on the ACT government to abandon plans to turn the London Circuit carpark into a compound during tram construction, saying it will not only devastate businesses but harm patients.

Craig Honeybrook said he had opened his business Sport and Spinal Physiotherapy in the Melbourne Building in May, as a sister clinic to his Gungahlin practice. The business employed 20 people and he expected numbers to double within four years. He had invested more than $650,000 in the new clinic, which offered physiotherapy, podiatry, remedial massage, pilates and psychology.

But the closure of the London Circuit carpark during tram construction would have a severe impact, cutting its growth by as much as 50 per cent.

He believed his was the only health practice in the ACT with a full-time podiatrist working alongside physiotherapists and as a result a big focus was the rehabilitation of complex lower limb injuries.

“If our clients with lower limb injuries were forced to walk an extra 500-600 metres …. I would predict that this extra walking distance may in fact negate any benefit that the treatment would provide,” he said in a letter to the government.

Plans to use the London Circuit carpark as a construction compound, with the loss of 250 carparks, were revealed in Capital Metro’s draft environmental impact statement for the tram, on which submissions close on Friday.

Mr Honeybrook said he had been shocked to hear of the plan through the media and other businesses, with no consultation from the government.

At least three-quarters of his clients drove to the city for their appointments and with the closure of the carpark, they might choose to avoid the clinic. “Such a serious impact on patient numbers will ultimately affect the number of therapists and administration staff employed at our practice and the continued viability of the business,” he said.

This full story can be found at: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/melbourne-building-physiotherapist-upset-at-plans-to-close-london-circuit-carpark-20150716-gid2gz.html

If you would like support our ongoing campaign, Sport & Spinal Physiotherapy currently have a petition for you to sign at the city reception.