Planning for open space

Did you know that Glen Eira has the lowest amount of open space within any Victorian municipality? That's why we manage parks to balance the need of all community users — all while providing high quality facilities with a diverse array of opportunities. 

We are guided by our Open Space Strategy, which further informs the Masterplans that provide direction and structural guidance on the future developments within our larger reserves. 

On this page

Open Space Strategy

Our Open Space Strategy guides the future planning, provision, design and management of public open space in Glen Eira. This includes understanding and addressing the open space needs of the existing community and planning ahead to anticipate and meet the open space needs of the forecast population within the municipality. 

The Open Space Strategy Refresh 2020 was adopted by Council in June 2020. This is a refresh of the 2014 Open Space Strategy and addresses the:

  • above forecast population growth
  • preparation of structure plans for the major activity centres
  • impact of the Level Crossing Removal Projects.

In addition, it updates relationships with new Council Strategy and Policy, presents a revised mapping of catchment areas and considers learnings from the implementation of the 2014 Open Space Strategy. To discover more about our plans for open space, access a copy of the Open Space Strategy Refresh 2020 (PDF 27Mb).


Planning for Play

Council endorsed the Glen Eira Planning for Play on 23 September 2021. Planning for Play is a guide to creating quality playgrounds in Glen Eira. We developed the guide in consultation with the community and allows you to understand:

  • directions for future planning
  • design considerations
  • criteria and priorities for playground projects.

We often associate play with children, but play is actually important across the entire life span. It’s how we play that changes over time. Playgrounds are important for their great play features, but also for:

  • supporting structures (eg. seats, toilets, bbqs)
  • integrating active recreation and intergenerational play into play spaces
  • health and wellbeing benefits of social play and nature play.

We commit to providing play spaces that are:

  • fun
  • engaging
  • accessible
  • meet community needs
  • attract residents and visitors to our parks and open space.

Read more about Planning for Play — a guide to creating quality playgrounds in Glen Eira (PDF)


GET Active — Future of Sport and Active Recreation

In 2031, do you know how many football players will be playing in Glen Eira, how many lacrosse fields will be required in Glen Eira or what new or modified sports will need facilities? GET Active establishes a framework to guide Council’s future provision and management of sporting and recreation facilities.

GET Active focuses on the importance of sport and active recreation, now and in the future, and contains information on:

  • organised sports participation data
  • existing sports facilities
  • key trends and future sports demands
  • recommendations to meet these demands
  • opportunities to improve access, diversity and integration of active recreation opportunities.

To find out more read our GET Active — Future of Sport and Active Recreation (PDF)


Active Recreation Action Plan

The GET Active report indicated that many of us are looking to ‘get active’ by participating in informal or social active recreation activities. Whilst sportsgrounds provide for sports clubs and can accommodate some level of active recreation, we have found it increasingly important to provide facilities that allow for individual and game play. These include tennis hit up walls, golf birdie cages, basketball and netball rings, bouldering walls, skate parks and table tennis tables.

You will already find many of these spread around Glen Eira parks and reserves, and the Active Recreation Action Plan further provides:

  • an analysis of existing active recreation infrastructure and opportunities, such as programs and facilities
  • strategic direction for the future of active recreation within the community
  • details recommendations to provide for active recreation.

Read more about the future of active recreation in Glen Eira — Active Recreation Action Plan (PDF 6Mb)


Pavilion Redevelopment Strategy

On 25 July 2017, Council endorsed the Pavilion Redevelopment Strategy, a document that provides a clear and equitable framework for prioritising investment into pavilion upgrades and redevelopments.

The Strategy provides an overview of:

  • existing pavilions
  • the purpose of pavilions
  • identifies future needs and opportunities
  • pavilion design
  • priority listings (that are subject to financial planning decision, external factors and competing demands for Council resources).

Read our Pavilion Redevelopment Strategy (PDF) 


Tennis Strategy

Council prepared and adopted a Tennis Strategy on 27 November 2018, providing clear and pragmatic actions towards improving the long-term sustainability of clubs, increasing participation and creating vibrant local clubs. The Strategy directly relates to:

  • people and participation, focused on both retention of existing clubs and their members, as well as improving broader community access to tennis facilities
  • facilities and management, including current facility condition audits
  • directions and actions to assist in supporting the tennis community.

Read our Tennis Strategy (PDF)


Urban Forest Strategy

Glen Eira’s urban forest is the sum of all trees, understorey, shrubs and ground covers and grasses across the municipality — public and private. The urban forest is supported by soil, water and nutrients and provides a wealth of benefits ranging from: 

  • shade provision
  • carbon storage
  • habitat for wildlife
  • reducing air pollution
  • neighbourhood amenity
  • stormwater capture
  • assisting in the mitigation of the effects of climate change.

Guided by our Vision and supported by direction provided in Living Melbourne: Our Metropolitan Urban Forest, the Urban Forest Strategy sets out the following five action areas to enable and inspire our whole community to better protect and strengthen our natural assets:

  1. Maintain and protect Glen Eira’s public and private land urban forest.
  2. Grow the future urban forest through designed solutions for trees and innovative green infrastructure on public and private land.
  3. Adapt to climate change and reduce urban heat impacts through embedding leading practice urban forest management into Council’s decision-making, investment and processes.
  4. Engage and collaborate across sectors with the community, developers and other agencies.
  5. Monitor and evaluate the progress of the urban forest, including progress towards targets.

To find our more read our Urban Forest Strategy (PDF 12Mb) and the Urban Forest Strategy Implementation Plan (PDF 725Kb)


Masterplans

We have developed Masterplans for a number of our parks and reserves, as part of a commitment to upgrade ageing infrastructure and provide future focus for our open space. Consideration is given to how parks function as a whole, and how different elements combine to best provide for our ever-changing and growing community. These may include, but are not limited to:

  • location of buildings
  • opportunity for multipurpose sporting facilities
  • car park and access
  • links and pathways
  • public lighting
  • barbecue and/or picnic areas and other facilities
  • other recreational facilities, such as playgrounds or outdoor fitness equipment, which meet current and future community needs.

The development of our Masterplans involve extensive community consultation and give us clear direction for the future development and management of our parks. 

Caulfield Park Masterplan 

The refreshed Caulfield Park Masterplan, endorsed by Council on 2 July 2019, reviewed actions implemented from the 2001 Caulfield Park Masterplan and identified new actions for the future vision of Caulfield Park.

Caulfield Park is the most popular open space in Glen Eira, with areas of botanical significance, active sports facilities and recreational play spaces. The Caulfield Park Masterplan provides the vision to:

  • protect and enhance the existing landscape planting strategy across the park, specifically the exotic and native planting to the western historic precinct and the native and indigenous planting to the eastern precinct
  • safeguard and enhance the 19th Century heritage and character of the western end of Caulfield Park
  • allow for sporting facilities to evolve within the existing areas to accommodate growth and community needs
  • create engaging landscapes and infrastructure that promotes social cohesion, equality and accessibility to all members of the community
  • create spaces where a variety of activities can occur, a range of goals are addressed and different objectives can be pursued
  • explore opportunities to improve sustainability, resilience and adaption to a changing climate.

View the Caulfield Park Masterplan Refresh

Duncan Mackinnon Reserve Masterplan

We adopted the Duncan Mackinnon Reserve Masterplan (PDF, 3MB) in April 2002, and designed areas of the masterplan in further detail in 2017. Completed actions include construction of additional netball courts and shelters.

Recommendations included, but weren't limited to:

  • extending the tree planting scheme;
  • a sheltered area adjacent to the sportsground toilets;
  • a new informal activity area/playground with new shelters, barbecues and tables;
  • a new 'bus only' drop-off zone on Crosbie Road; and
  • construction of an internal pathway with lighting.

Find out more about the facilities at Duncan Mackinnon Reserve.

EE Gunn Reserve Masterplan

We adopted the EE Gunn Reserve Masterplan (PDF, 1MB) on 5 September 2017. We have implemented it in stages since its adoption and will continue to do so as funding becomes available. Some of the actions already completed include reinstating the eastern sportsground, building a new golf birdie cage and installing a new synthetic cricket wicket.

Further recommendations included, but weren't limited to:

  • adding a shared trail behind the playground;
  • upgrading the outdoor fitness station;
  • adding new seating areas; and
  • installing a new park maintenance shed.

Find out more about the facilities at EE Gunn Reserve.

Hopetoun Gardens Masterplan

The Hopetoun Gardens Landscape Masterplan was adopted by Council on 16 October 2019. The masterplan was designed to reinforce the heritage and formal layout of the park.

Key recommendations included:

  • Replacement of the existing feature planting to provide casual seating areas
  • Realign pathways to provide symmetry of layout
  • Lowering the bandstand for all abilities access
  • Playground upgrade
  • Additional tables and seating
  • Review the lighting in the gardens
  • Consider incorporating fitness equipment in the playground area

View the Hopetoun Gardens Landscape Masterplan

Lord Reserve and Koornang Park Masterplan

The Lord Reserve and Koornang Park Masterplan was adopted by Council on 25 June 2019.

The vision for this Masterplan is to celebrate the existing unique character and features of the two parks, whilst uniting them as a single coherent space to meet the future needs of the community.

The Masterplan has been guided by the following principles:

  • Identify elements of the park that are unique and explore how these can be retained, re-imagined and/or reinterpreted
  • Retain as many significant trees as possible
  • Consolidate Lord Reserve and Koornang Park to develop a consistent precinct character
  • Increase the net area of open and recreational space and minimise traffic accessing the centre of the site
  • Minimise visual impact of any new facilities upon the park.

Key actions of the Masterplan include:

  • consolidating and redeveloping the pavilion at Lord Reserve
  • construction of a new sportsground at Lord Reserve
  • retention and enhancements of plantings, gardens, play spaces and outdoor fitness equipment
  • re-configuring car parking around the reserves.

View the Lord Reserve and Koornang Park Masterplan.

Mackie Road Reserve Masterplan

The Mackie Road Reserve Masterplan was adopted by Council on 28 June 2022. The Masterplan provides a balance between the aspiration of organised sport and leased facilities with the broader provision of informal recreation and flexible green space.

Key features of the Masterplan include:

  • Creation of a new all abilities playground, shelters, and social facilities along Mackie Road.
  • A consolidated central car park to improve movement, pedestrian safety and protect significant trees.
  • Provision of a fully enclosed multi-purpose facility suitable for cricket training and other codes, with an adjacent basketball and netball area.
  • A redeveloped sports pavilion within the footprint of the existing pavilion to protect existing significant trees.
  • Creation of an off-lead dog park for our furry friends in Orange Reserve.

View the Mackie Road Reserve Masterplan

Murrumbeena Park Masterplan

Murrumbeena Park is one of Glen Eira’s largest parks, featuring two sportsgrounds, a large nature based play space, a modified basketball court, shelters and picnic facilities, a pavilion and a bowling club.

The Murrumbeena Park Masterplan was adopted by Council on 3 September 2019. This Masterplan provided an update from the original masterplan developed in 2002, and incorporates the location of the future Murrumbeena Community Hub.

This Masterplan identifies how the existing and future infrastructure will integrate to create a sustainable and community oriented public space — now and into the future — including:

  • enhancing functionality to accommodate increased usage
  • creating an inclusive, accessible park for people of all ages and abilities
  • promoting and providing for community events
  • improving landscaping and promoting environment sustainability
  • proposing future improvements to infrastructure.

View the Murrumbeena Park Masterplan

Outer Circle Railway/Boyd Park Management Plan

The refreshed Outer Circle Railway Landscape Management Plan, endorsed by Council on 19 March 2019, provided an update to the existing 2004 Landscape Management Plan.

The Landscape Management Plan addresses the significant changes made to the southern boundaries of Boyd Park and Riley Reserve through the Caulfield to Dandenong grade separation project. Areas that once adjoined a fenced rail corridor become activated through a newly created linear park, and this Plan sees the connections, access and function of these spaces change dramatically.

Additionally, the Melbourne Water project to duplicate drainage pipes has seen major disruptions to the environment at Riley Reserve, Springthorpe Gardens and the central area of Boyd Park.

Some of the matters the Landscape Management Plan addresses includes:

  • Assessment of maintenance regimes and their impact and make any necessary recommendations to ensure the integrity of the park is adhered to with a suitable action plan
  • Address the significant landscape characteristics of each space
  • Recommendations presented in the Glen Eira Open Space Strategy
  • Development of specific landscape and infrastructure treatments
  • Consideration to align the level crossing removal project and Melbourne Water drain upgrade
  • Management and development of the existing vegetation and facilities
  • Consideration of connectivity and access around the park.

View the Outer Circle Linear Park Management Plan

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