Use of Public Parkland - Melbourne a First
Nowhere else in the world has a Formula One Grand Prix circuit been constructed entirely within public parkland.

The Albert Park circuit is often likened to Adelaide. The Adelaide circuit is essentially an existing street circuit; it was not constructed in public parkland. The 3.78 km circuit starts and finishes in the privately owned Victoria Park Racecourse which accommodates the start/finish straight, a temporary pit building and the main grandstands, as well as conveniently providing some permanent grandstands. The remainder uses city streets adjacent to parkland, save for one 360 metre section which runs between Rymill Park and Rundle Park and two shorter sections which actually cross a narrow area of parkland. The run-offs are normal streets. 

In 1994 plans to hold the Argentine Grand Prix in inner city suburbs and parkland of Palermo led to public protests from environmentalists and local residents and the relocation of the race to the Autodromo Oscar Galvez.

1983-1985 plans to construct a circuit in New Yorks's Flushing Meadow Corona Park were successfully opposed by a committee of local residents and environmental groups, led by Ben Haber.

Pre-Formula One, two circuits were built in private estates (Monza, Italy, 1922; Donnington Park, England, 1933). Two Australian Grand Prix (1953 and 1956), but not Formula One, were held in Albert Park, but at that time no tree-felling or major park modification was necessary to accommodate the race. Even so the Bolte Liberal/Country Party Government in 1958 saw fit to ban motor racing in the Park.

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Inner City Temporary Circuits are the Exception
Owing to the high costs, and the environmental and disruptive impact of inner city temporary circuits, only two inner city races remain on the Grand Prix calendar.

Among the 24 circuits used in South and North America, Europe, and the Pacific since 1992

• Adelaide (population 1.023 million) and Monaco (population 27,000) are the sole remaining inner city street circuits close to residential areas.
• 7 circuits are on the outskirts of major cities. The Montreal circuit is on an island in the St Lawrence river which had been abandoned since its use as the Expo 67 site. No public roads, city population or community services are affected. The track is described as "nautical" and "surrounded by large expanses of water".
•   17 of the 25 circuits are located at least 20 km from the nearest major city

The Melbourne circuit is located entirely within public parkland only 2.5 km from the central business district and 200 metres from one of the most densely populated areas of Melbourne. 30,000 people live within 1 km of the track (12,000 in Adelaide), and also within 1 km of the track are 16 child care centres/kindergartens, 12 schools, 4 hospitals, and 17 residential/nursing homes for the elderly.

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Environmental Problems Force Closures/Modifications
Since 1985 two established circuits have been closed or forced to be modified because of environmental problems.

i) The Dutch Zandvoort circuit, which was built in 1948 near the growing seaside resort of Zandvoort, ceased to host Formula One races in 1985 - " the main problem faced by the circuit has been one of noise, as it is very close to the resort town." (Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Motor Racing, Golden Press 1990).

ii) At Monza, near Milan, in 1994 and 1995 demands by drivers for the removal of 300 trees to improve track safety were opposed by local authorities and environmentalists. Under a compromise agreement between race officials and the Italian Government 139 trees were removed over the two years and the track was modified. Over 1000 trees were removed to accommodate race requirements in Albert Park.

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Environmental Problems Have Forced Re-location of British Grand Prix
When the owners of the Brands Hatch track won the rights to the British Grand Prix for 2002 they were required to make extensions to the circuit which threatened 15 hectares of ancient woodland. The planning application was opposed by the national Woodland Trust. Facing a Public Inquiry into the planning application called by the Department for the Environment, Transport and Regions in 2001, the owners of Brands Hatch (and of the rights to the British GP) negotiated an agreement with Silverstone to hold the British Grand Prix there for the next 15 years.

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New Formula One Circuits are Permanent All-Year Tracks
Seven of the eight new Formula One standard circuits built since 1990 are part of a permanent autodrome venue and six are away from urban centres:

Hungaroring (Hungary)	22 km from Budapest
Magny-Cours (France)	80 km from Bourges
Aida (Japan)	72 km north-east of Okayama
Catalunya (Spain)	35 km northeast of Barcelona
Zhuhai (China)	outside Zhuhai city
Sepang (Malaysia)	64 km from Kuala Lumpur

The new US circuit was constructed within the existing Indianapolis Motor Speedway (built 1909), 10 km east of Indianapolis.

The temporary Albert Park circuit (only 2.5 km from Melbourne) remains a glaring exception. 

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Permanent Purpose-Built Circuits are More Cost-Effective 

Permanent purpose-built tracks can be used year-round to generate revenue from a diversity of racing and testing activities.
Of the 25 tracks used since 1992:
¨ 21 are purpose-built and permanent circuits or autodromes like Sandown, which can be used for a variety of motor car and motor cycle racing, and testing.
¨ At least 9 are privately owned and were developed with private funds
And of the circuits used in the last 20 years at least 9 tracks have been built on sites which were abandoned (Montreal Expo site), unused (Silverstone redundant air base) or underdeveloped (e.g. Hungary's Hungaroring, Brazil's Jacarepagua). Melbourne's Docklands would be a comparable site.

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Permanent Circuits of Greater Benefit to Motor Sport
The trend towards permanent circuits or autodromes is recognised by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. 
In a letter to the then Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation in 1983 (obtained under FOI) the Confederation noted that `the policy of the governing body FISA is to place further restrictions on street circuits, with a view to reducing their numbers', and observed that:
A permanent motor racing venue offers substantial advantages over a temporary public road circuit. Ongoing set up costs, availability of the facility on other than a few specific days, and the residual benefit to sport and industry are substantial benefits which should not be ignored."
The letter also noted the vulnerability of street circuits to changing planning and environmental considerations.
This view was endorsed by Alan Jones, the 1980 World Formula One champion and the only Melbourne-born driver to win the title, who was quoted in The Age (15/11/94) as saying:

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