Twenty-eight new parks are set to be built, and more green space established over the next four years, as part of a groundbreaking plan to make Melbourne a truly Garden City if Nick Reece is re-elected as Lord Mayor.
Every great city has amazing parks and gardens, and Melbourne already punches above its weight, but to remain a great place to live and work, as well as a world-class business and tourist destination, we can do more to make Melbourne even greener.
As one of the centrepieces of the Team Reece campaign, the Garden City Initiative will deliver a new park or green space to nearly every neighbourhood in the City of Melbourne, including:
- Turning the neglected Banana Alley Vaults from grey to green, with a fast-tracked investment for new green open space to connect Banana Alley to Enterprise Park
- Five new or upgraded pocket parks across the central city and Docklands – starting with converting the Brown Alley square into a green oasis
- A new undercroft park in Southbank, under the West Gate Freeway
- A game-changing investment in the Moonee Ponds Creek, to start fixing this important waterway
- A new park near the boundary of North Melbourne and West Melbourne, and a new green open space for Carlton
Alongside these new investments, a re-elected Nick Reece as Lord Mayor will also fast track and deliver every park and public open space committed to during the last term of Council, which includes:
- A new 12,000m2 linear park on Normanby Road, creating a spectacular new green open space where it’s most needed in Southbank
- The Hawke Street Linear Park project in West Melbourne, creating over 3000m2 of new green open space in the heart of West Melbourne
- An 3600m2 park in Kensington, on Chelmsford Street, to connect Kensington to a revitalised Moonee Ponds Creek
- A new undercroft park in Southbank, underneath Kings Way
- The new 1.8-hectare Market Square Park, next to Queen Victoria Market
Further measures of the Garden City Initiative include:
- Making grants available to owners of existing buildings to build publicly accessible rooftop garden space, or to put wall gardens (or ‘green walls’) on their buildings.
- Reforming the Council’s permitting system so more homeowners and business owners can put more plants on footpaths and laneways in the central city.
- Supporting building owners and businesses purchase plants to decorate their buildings as long as they commit to looking after them.
As part of the Garden City Initiative, renowned landscape designer Paul Bangay has agreed to be the Garden City Ambassador. Paul will provide input on park and green space design for Melbourne to ensure our gardens are the best in the world.
Funding for the new parks will come from unlocking the Public Open Space Fund, and development contribution schemes, which would enable over $40 million of investment to make Melbourne a Garden City.
A full list of the twenty-eight parks to be delivered, including those already budgeted for by the City of Melbourne, is available here.
Quotes attributable to Lord Mayor Nick Reece:
“Victoria was once known as the Garden State, I want Melbourne to be the Garden City. This is the biggest addition to our city’s parks and gardens since Charles La Trobe mapped out Melbourne’s parks in the 1840s.”
“Every great city is defined by its parks and gardens, and with this plan, we are taking Melbourne’s green spaces to the next level.”
“Nearly every area of Melbourne will receive at least one new park or green space under this initiative – making our city an even better and greener place to live.”
Quotes attributable to Councillor and Deputy Lord Mayor Candidate Roshena Campbell:
“A greener city is a healthier city for our residents, traders and visitors alike.”
“Our city has some of the most beautiful parks and gardens in the world – we want to see even more and that is what this plan will deliver.”
Quotes attributable to Garden City Ambassador Paul Bangay:
“Melbourne's parks and gardens are some of the best in the world and I'm so excited by this plan to make us a Garden City. As more people call Melbourne home, creating green spaces - whether that is more public parks or on building rooftops - is more important than ever.”
