Residents have sent a clear message – “hands off JJ Holland Park” – after a 2008 transport study foreshadowed major changes for the area.

Last week Premier Ted Baillieu included a proposal for an 18 kilometre freeway connecting the Eastern Freeway with the Western Ring Road on a project wish list sent to Infrastructure Australia.

The proposal asked for funding to develop a plan for the link, which would include connections to the Tullamarine Freeway, the Port of Melbourne and Geelong Road.

A similar proposal put forward under the previous Labor Government in 2008 was staunchly opposed by residents.

Kensington Association chair Dr Tony Dare said residents anxiously awaited details on any new plan. He said under the 2008 plan, the park would have become a staging and construction site, potentially disrupting the space for years.

He said a section of that plan also suggested leaving part of the tunnel beneath the park uncovered, essentially dividing the park in two.

More than 600 residents turned up to a rally in 2008 to oppose any changes to JJ Holland Park.

“We are not opposed to development, but we are about preserving the amenity of the Kensington area,” Dr Dare said.

Carlton Residents Association spokesman Ian Bird said Carlton residents had been fighting similar proposals since the plan to widen Princes Street in the 1970s. “We never believed this was dead and buried.”

Flemington Association president Kathryn Miller said residents were disappointed that the issue was back on the agenda.

She said an east-west link could lead to an increase in traffic, greater noise pollution and a loss of parkland.

The association supported better east-west public transport and more bike lanes, she said.

State Government spokeswoman Kate Walshe said the community and key stakeholders would be consulted as part of any planning process.

“The detailed planning to consider matters such as route and any off-on ramps … is part of the work that we are asking the Commonwealth to help us fund,” she said.