Diverse, welcoming and accessible places

We will focus on the following priorities in support of this objective:

• enhance our parks, gardens, playgrounds and open spaces so they are inclusive, sustainable and responsive to community needs
• ensure equitable access to our facilities for women and girls
• progress the development of new public open space,
  advocating for funding to other levels of government
• advocate for greater access and the development of community infrastructure at the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve, working with the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust, Melbourne Racing Club and emerging stakeholders

• Maintain or increase investment in disability (non-visible and visible) access improvements
• Maintain or increase library visits per head of population
• Increase community open space facility bookings
• Maintain or increase investment in open space
• Maintain or increase community satisfaction with Recreation Facilities

• We are progressing several disability access improvement projects. The actual spend is tracking below forecast and requires monitoring.
  
• Our libraries welcomed more than 300,000 visits between July and December 2025, an increase of 15,000 visits compared with the same period in 2024. This steady growth shows strong community use of our library spaces and services.
  
• We are tracking above our target with 2,870 bookings between July and December 2025. Community groups and residents continue to use our open spaces for a wide range of events and activities.
  
• Our investment in open space is progressing through design and early delivery. The actual spend is tracking below forecast and requires monitoring.
  
• Community satisfaction with recreation facilities is reported annually. Progress will be available in our Annual Report.
  

• Demolition of the existing facility
• Construction of a new pavilion to accommodate the growing needs of tenant sports clubs
  including:
  (a) catering for growing female participation
  (b) increasing junior participation
  (c) club social activities.
• This project is in partnership with the Victorian Government

We are preparing the permit applications needed to begin construction of the new Mackie Road Reserve Pavilion and demolish the existing building.

We’re also waiting for the service authorities to complete the power disconnection at the current pavilion, which must occur before demolition can start.

Once this step is finished, we will begin work on the new pavilion that will support growing female and junior participation and provide improved social spaces for clubs.

• Dog park at Orange Street, Bentleigh East open to the community

Design for the new dog park at Orange Street,
Bentleigh East is being finalised following community
consultation. Procurement and construction will
follow once the design is complete, with the project
progressing toward opening the space for the
community.

• Works to improve existing building accessibility of McKinnon Hall, Moorleigh Village, Bentleigh East and Glover Street, Bentleigh East Kindergarten to comply with Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) requirements
• Empathetic parking bays installed to support people with disabilities, seniors and parents with pram to access parks, reserves and community facilities at 21 locations in Murrumbeena, Carnegie, Ormond, Elsternwick, Caulfield East and Bentleigh East

Accessibility upgrades are progressing across Glen Eira. The Town Hall Service Centre entrance works have been awarded and are scheduled for February–March 2026. Plans for Moorleigh Community Village are complete and moving to procurement in February. At McKinnon Hall, minor access improvements are being installed and
design work for the entrance upgrade continues. A Disability Discrimination Act audit is underway at Glover Street Kindergarten.

Installation and construction of empathetic parking bays at seven locations are progressing well. Design plans have been finalised and notification with affected community members has been undertaken. Work is expected to begin in the coming months.

• Work with the Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trustees, Melbourne Racing Club and emerging stakeholders/property partners to deliver improved access to the Caulfield Racecourse reserve including:
  (a) upgrades to existing tunnels for improved cyclist and pedestrian access,
  (b) new access points
  (c) ‘new outer track’ around the perimeter of the reserve, consistent with the vision of the Caulfield Structure Plan

Access pathway and fencing upgrades within Glen Huntly Park are now complete. These works lay the groundwork for longer-term improvements to cyclist and pedestrian access.

We continue to advocate for stronger community access and open space outcomes as part of the
proposed Mt Scopus redevelopment and the proposed Melbourne Football Club training facility. This includes seeking improved access to the racecourse infield, identifying new access points and progressing the concept for a ‘new outer track’around the reserve, consistent with the Caulfield Structure Plan.

• Endorsed landscape concept plans for The Elsternwick Club future open space, which provide a range of activities, social elements and biodiversity enhancements
• Prepare a report for Council on the investigation into temporary open space options

Landscape concept plans for The Elsternwick Club have now been endorsed by Council and were strongly supported by the community. The plans outline a future open space that offers recreation opportunities, social areas and improved biodiversity.

We have also considered the report on opportunities for temporary open space. Following this, we are in discussions with landowners to identify suitable sites and understand the conditions that may support short‑term community use.

We will focus on the following priorities in support of this objective:

• deliver facilities and infrastructure that encourage community health and wellbeing including parks, footpaths, facilities and support for participation in sport and recreation
• undertake planning to ensure our community facilities and infrastructure meets our needs now and into the future balancing community benefit and long-term financial sustainability
• develop plans to enhance and activate the Town Hall Precinct in Caulfield as a thriving community hub
• increase community awareness of our community facilities and infrastructure

• Maintain or increase community satisfaction with enforcement of local laws
• Enhance amenity and safety through public space patrols
• Increase community room bookings

• Community satisfaction with enforcement of local laws is reported annually. Progress will be available in our Annual Report.
  
• We carried out 4,500 patrols across parks and reserves from July to December 2025. These regular patrols help keep our public spaces safe and welcoming.
  
• We are on track for community room bookings with 3,455 bookings recorded for the period. Community groups and residents continue to use these spaces for meetings, programs and local activities, and we expect demand to build over the remainder of the year.
  

• Completion of works including:
  (a) Roundabout works at the Patterson Road-Allnut Street-Mitchell Street roundabout, Bentleigh
  (b) Intersection works along Glen Huntly Road, Elsternwick, which aim to reduce vehicle speeds and provide a continuous footpath connection across the side road intersections.
  (c) Speed humps on Adrian Street at Celia Street, Bentleigh East
  (d) Splitter islands at intersections in four locations in Elsternwick
  (e) Works including lighting, line marking and signage
  changes at Marara Road-Narrawong Road, Caulfield South
  (f) Safety treatments around Coatesville Primary School, Bentleigh East and
  (g) Traffic improvements in Cecil Street, Bentleigh East.

Safety upgrades across seven locations are progressing well.
(a) Designs for the works at the Patterson Road-Allnut Street-Mitchell Street roundabout, Bentleigh are nearing completion,with construction to begin in the coming months.
(b) Designs for the raised crossings works along Glen Huntly Road, Elsternwick, which aim to reduce vehicle speeds and provide a continuous footpath connection across the side road intersections are nearing completion, with construction to begin in the coming months.
(c) Speed humps on Adrian Street at Celia Street, Bentleigh East have been completed.
(d) Splitter islands at intersections in four locations in Elsternwick have been completed.
(e) Designs for improvement works, including lighting, line marking and signage changes at Marara Road-Narrawong Road, Caulfield South, are complete and ready for construction.
(f) Designs for safety treatments around Coatesville Primary School, Bentleigh East are complete and ready for construction.
(g) Designs for traffic improvements in Cecil Street, Bentleigh East are complete and ready for construction.

• Annual series of events or programs in various locations throughout the municipality

Works at Packer Park were completed in December 2025. The upgraded five‑bay multipurpose training facility is now open to the community. The golf cage has also been successfully relocated.

• Completion of playground renewals at Victory Park, Bentleigh, Greenmeadows Gardens, St Kilda East, Packer Park, Carnegie and Glen Huntly Park

• Community Infrastructure Plan developed
• Draft plan presented to Council

Community Infrastructure Plan development is progressing but behind schedule. Key groundwork is complete, including information analysis, the Seniors Position Paper and a Gender Impact Assessment. Current work includes the human services needs analysis, Early Years Infrastructure Plan and community engagement planning, with the draft Plan due by June 2026.

• Stage one Caulfield Civic Precinct Masterplan
• Improve site connectivity and access
• Enhance green spaces
• Ensure adaptive re-use of existing assets

Work is progressing on the Landscape and Placemaking Plan for the Caulfield Town Hall precinct. Early investigations, including site surveys, Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) compliance audits and adaptive re‑use planning, are underway. Buildings are being prepared for future works.

The next stage includes finalising technical inputs, the DDA compliance audit and developing the plan, which will guide improvements to green spaces, pathways and community areas to enhance access and community us.

• Public lighting policy adopted

We’ve drafted a public lighting policy to guide future investment decisions that improve community safety, amenity and wellbeing. The draft draws on existing masterplans, benchmarking and adopted strategies. Community consultation is planned for the second half of the 2025–2026 financial year before the policy is finalised and presented to Council.

We will focus on the following priorities in support of
this objective:

• collaborate with local traders’ associations, business networks and community groups to revitalise shopping strips, deliver improvements to local amenity and encourage economic activity
• enhance the appeal, amenity, cleanliness and accessibility of our activity centres
• adopt a holistic approach to economic development including consideration of wellbeing economy principles

• Maintain or increase retail occupancy rate
• Maintain community satisfaction with the
  appearance of public areas
• Maintain or increase investment in activity
  centres
• Maintain or increase the frequency of our
  cleansing services within our Activity Centres

• Our December 2025 vacancy audit shows a retail occupancy rate of 92.2 per cent. This strong result reflects ongoing stability across our shopping strips and activity centres, and we will continue working with local traders and property owners to support healthy retail activity throughout the year.
  
• Community satisfaction with the appearance of public areas is reported annually. Progress will be available in our Annual Report.
  
• Our Activity Centre investment is progressing through design and early delivery. The actual spend is tracking below forecast and requires monitoring.
  
• Our cleansing services in Activity Centres met expected levels from July to December 2025 with 100 per cent delivery. We maintained footpath pressure washing and kerb‑and‑channel schedules to keep these areas clean and welcoming for the community.
  

• Improve footpaths, garden beds, street trees and seating areas along Centre Road near Thomas Street, Bentleigh

After community engagement in 2025, we finalised the designs for the streetscape improvements along Centre Road near Thomas Street. We will deliver stage one in mid‑2026, covering the section between Cairnes Grove and Loranne Street. Our procurement process is almost complete and works are scheduled to start in April 2026 when planting conditions are most suitable.

• Improvements to footpaths, garden beds and street trees completed
• Seating areas completed
• Construction of new public toilet facility completed

We have finalised the designs for the Staniland Grove upgrades following two rounds of community feedback. At the end of 2025, we released a public tender to appoint a contractor to build the new public toilet facility and we are now seeking quotations for the shade structure.

We are on track to deliver the streetscape works in early to mid‑2026. These works include improved footpaths, new street furniture, a shade structure, landscaping and the construction of the new public toilet facility.

• Delivery of stage one upgrades to the public seating areas in one kerb outstand on Koornang Road including upgrades to the footpath, street furniture and landscaping
• Preparation of draft Masterplan for the commercial strip between Neerim and Dandenong Road, Carnegie

Following community engagement in 2025, we finalised the design for small public space upgrades at one kerb outstand on Koornang Road. Stage one is on track for delivery in mid‑2026 and will include new pavements, improved street furniture and landscaping.

We are also preparing a draft Masterplan for the commercial strip between Neerim Road and Dandenong Road. This work reflects community and trader feedback and includes further investigations into greening, vehicle movements and pedestrian safety.

• All second year actions delivered, including:
  (a) Business support and engagement
  (b) Vibrant activity centre and community activations
  (c) Strategic partnerships and inclusive economic development

We delivered most second year actions in the Glen Eira Economic Development Action Plan. Our programs strengthened local businesses through mentoring, training, networking and the Business Excellence Awards. We also updated economic profiles, monitored vacancies and improved key public spaces to support thriving activity centres. We advanced inclusive economic development by building new partnerships and designing a youth entrepreneurship pilot.

• Third year actions delivered including:
  (a) Round two of the Community Place Projects
  (b) Signage along the Boyd Family Walking Tour installed
  (c) Caulfield rail underpass murals and
  (d) Deliver a First Peoples’ public art project in one activity centre.

We completed engagement for the Community Place Projects and selected three community‑led projects for delivery by June 2026.

We installed new signage along the Boyd Family Walking Tour, including footpath decals and a new sign in Boyd Park.

We are finalising an agreement with Metro to paint the Caulfield rail underpasses, with colourful designs ready to improve safety, amenity and reduce graffiti.

We’re also progressing a First Peoples’ public art project in Elsternwick, with site approvals secured and artist engagement underway with the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation.

• Community consultation report
• Parking management options recommended for Council’s consideration
• Commence implementation

We heard from almost 5,000 community members about parking in Carnegie, Elsternwick and Bentleigh. Council discussed the parking approach at its meeting on 16 December 2025.

Council endorsed a staged approach focused on fairness and better data, including introducing smart parking sensors. No user‑pays parking will be introduced in the next 12 months.

We will focus on the following priorities in support of
this objective:

• increase and enhance walking, cycling, active and accessible transport options such as footpaths, shared paths, bike parking, crossings, wayfinding and lighting
• advocate to the Victorian Government for more accessible bus and tram stops and improved actual and perceived safety at stops for all users 🔑
• advocate to the Victorian Government to improve public
  transport frequency, reliability, operating hours, connections, real time information, access to Bentleigh East and connecting key nodes in the southern part of the City

• Increase community satisfaction with the condition of local streets and footpaths in your area
• Maintain or increase investment in active travel

• Community satisfaction with the condition of local streets and footpaths in your area is reported annually. Progress will be available in our Annual Report.
  
• Our active travel investment is underway,
  with cycling infrastructure, bike parking and integrated transport projects progressing through design and early delivery. The actual spend is tracking below forecast and requires monitoring.
  

• Enhancement of Council’s footpath network condition through the delivery of the footpath renewal program
• Minimum 10,000 square metres of footpaths renewed
• Minimum 22,000 trip hazards removed by mechanical grinding

We have marked all scheduled footpath renewal works on site for this financial year. Works are underway with our contractors. We have renewed 6,500 square metres of footpaths — that’s about the size of 15 basketball courts.

Following requests from traders, we have rescheduled renewal works on Glen Huntly Road between Nepean Highway and Orrong Road to start in early 2026.

Works on Normanby Road South, between Queens Avenue and Caulfield Station, will begin in January 2026.

We are progressing reactive footpath repairs across
a range of locations. We removed 7,500 trip hazards
through mechanical grinding, improving accessibility for people walking in our community.

• Changes identified for line-marking, traffic signals and minor kerb adjustments
• Intersection upgrades delivered for Normanby Road, Caulfield North
• Queens Avenue Caulfield North underpass improvement delivered

We have prepared a detailed design to improve the cycling connection between Queens Avenue and the Djerring Trail. This design responds directly to community feedback about safety risks at the intersection. It has passed a Road Safety Audit and traffic modelling, and it has been reviewed by the Department of Transport and Planning.

We will continue working with the local community in early 2026 and will finalise the detailed design by June 2026, informed by the feedback we receive.

• Completion of the road reconstruction program planned at: Lord Street, Caulfield East and Maple Street, Caulfield South
• 44,000 sqm of roads resurfaced in 23 streets along with footpaths, kerb and channel and drainage, signs and other operational works completed
• Communication with the community to help them understand the roads that Council has control over

The reconstruction contract for Maple Street has been awarded, with works starting in March 2026. The Lord Street reconstruction tender will be released in January 2026, with works scheduled to begin in March–April 2026.

These projects form part of our broader program to improve local road condition and safety.

• New traffic calming treatments and bike stencils between Centre and South Roads,Bentleigh
• Ramps on and off existing shared use paths
• New signs

Designs for stage one of the Frankston Rail Trail safety improvements were finalised following community consultation in 2025.

The project will improve safety and accessibility along this key cycling connection through new road markings for a shared lane, a speed hump, ramps and updated signage.

Delivery is planned for the first half of 2026.

• Landscaping and active travel safety improvements delivered including:
  (a) Transport and landscaping design completed
  (b) Ramps, line-markings and signs at the entrance to Ripon Grove from Hotham Street, Elsternwick
  (c) Landscaping improvements along Rippon Grove and the railway fence

Stage one concept designs for the Glen Eira Green Link are complete. The designs deliver safety, landscaping and biodiversity improvements to the cycling connection between Hotham Street and Rippon Grove.

We will seek feedback from the Green Line Alliance in early 2026.

We expect to deliver the project by June 2026.

We will focus on the following priorities in support of
this objective:

• advocate to the Victorian Government for housing diversity outcomes that maintain our unique local identity
• advocate for improved social and affordable housing outcomes
• increase our advocacy to all levels of government to take action on housing stress and housing diversity in our community

• Maintain or decrease the percentage of canopy tree removal permits issued
• Increase the number of heritage places and precincts identified

• We have approved 92 per cent of canopy tree removal permit applications under the Local Law. Some applicants withdrew their requests after speaking with our officers, which helped protect more established trees. We expect some variation in this measure as the Victorian Government introduces broader canopy protection requirements into the state planning scheme.
  
• We exhibited heritage amendments covering 76 new places in Caulfield South and Gardenvale, including three precincts and one group listing. We also exhibited 95 new places in Caulfield North, including four precincts. Work has started on a heritage review of Murrumbeena to identify further places for protection.
  

• Partnerships with registered housing providers to deliver social and affordable housing options
• Advocacy with Victorian and Australian Governments conducted

We met with the Victorian and Australian Governments to advocate for more investment in social and affordable housing in Glen Eira. Our advocacy paper has helped clarify funding opportunities, local housing demand and forecasting unmet affordable housing needs. We are continuing to push for redevelopment of key priority sites. We also emphasised the need for community health and wrap around services to support residents near social and affordable housing developments.

• Murrumbeena heritage review completed
• Planning scheme amendments commenced to implement the Caulfield North and Caulfield South/Gardenvale heritage review recommendations

The Murrumbeena Heritage Review is 85 per cent complete. We will present the review to Council for adoption quarter four 2025–2026. Once adopted, we will begin the planning scheme amendment process.

2.5.3 Facilitate and advocate for quality urban planning outcomes for our City

• Continued advocacy to Victorian Government for the authorisation of Council’s activity centre structure plan and heritage amendments to provide clarity around housing growth in our major activity centres
• Active participation and advocacy for acceptable planning outcomes through the Victorian Government’s activity centre plans

We continued to advocate to the Victorian Government’s Activity Centre Program for high‑quality planning outcomes across our major activity centres. We submitted feedback on the draft plans for Carnegie, Murrumbeena and Hughesdale in October 2025 and continue to work with the Department of Transport and Planning as the plans progress.