FRUSTRATED Keilor Valley farmers, many of whom have given up farming due to drought, could get relief if their land is bought by the State Government and turned into a park.

That's the suggestion of Greens MLC Colleen Hartland, who has responded to the farmers' recent plea for subdivision of their land, as reported by The Advocate two weeks ago.

Although Ms Hartland said she supported the Government's green wedge policy, which prohibits increased residential densities in areas affected by aircraft noise, she believed a park in the area would be widely used by residents.

"The farmers are in a difficult situation, but we create green wedges to make sure we have land for Melbourne.

"A large park in that area wouldn't go astray; you always need open space. Brimbank Park was a market garden, which was bought by the government and turned into a park."

But Bobby Koroneos, whose father Chris used to grow all sorts of crops but gave it away six years ago, said Ms Hartland's comments were a political stunt ahead of November's election.

"We have been suggesting such an idea to all the governments for the past 30 years; this hasn't been going on in the last five minutes," Mr Koroneos said.

"Market gardening is history. We produce nothing as we don't have any water.

"What we want is for them to understand that it's gone, but noone from the Government is interested because we're not a big area; there's not a lot of votes so it's not going to affect them.

"The policy was written years ago. The council doesn't want to acknowledge that the area in terms of gardening is done and dusted.

The Government doesn't want to pay for the park."

Brimbank's general manager of city development, Stephen Sully, said council, in partnership with the city of Hume, had recently submitted a grant application to Parks Victoria for the development of a feasibility study to investigate the creation of an open-space corridor along the Maribyrnong River, from Brimbank Park to Organ Pipes National Park.

"The focus of the study will be on the development of a linear open-space corridor along the river, and a major park area in addition to this linear corridor is not proposed by either Parks Victoria or Council. As a result, the draft Green Wedge Management Plan does not contemplate the whole of the market gardens area becoming a park.

"If this idea was to be supported it would require a change to current strategic

planning and the involvement of the State Government to purchase land."