Construction is now underway on Chirnside Urban Park, the Project aims to:

• maintain open space and include substantial trees and gardens
• be a destination that can be used by all ages and abilities
• have inviting and safe places to meet and eat
• have accessible walking circuits and be easily accessed by footpaths or parking
• include opportunities for play

Follow the project construction

Thank you for all your feedback which has helped to shape this project.

Yarra Ranges Council is planning a new Urban Park for Belsay Reserve, at the corner of Kimberley Drive and Black Springs Road in Chirnside Park.

We’d like to provide you with an update on the proposed designs for the Urban Park.

What you told us

In late 2019 – early 2020, we asked the community, school groups, seniors groups and youth what they would like to see at Belsay Reserve, which is currently open space with a wetland area.

You told us it was important for the new Chirnside Urban Park:

• To maintain open space and include substantial trees and gardens
• To be a destination that can be used by all ages and abilities
• To include inviting and safe places to meet and eat
• To have accessible walking circuits and be easily accessed by footpaths or parking
• To include opportunities for play

What has been done so far

To provide a park that met the wishes of the local community, we needed to extend the land available to include the allotment next to Kimberley Drive. The sale of the land to Council has now been confirmed. We then used the community’s feedback and expert opinion to help create a draft Master Plan, incorporating the community’s ideas where possible and appropriate. The draft master plan – a document detailing the features of the new park and its play spaces - was circulated for community feedback in February and March. Council received 160 responses to an online survey and engaged about 60 people at a pop-up at the Chirnside Park Shopping Centre to gather feedback about the park.

At their 27 April 2021 meeting, Councillors adopted the Chirnside Urban Park Master Plan and moved to progress the project to detailed design.

Based on community feedback the theme of ‘flight’ has been selected for the Chirnside Urban Park and will be reflected within the following features:

• An urban forest zone with nature play, discovery trails, and scooter paths
• A regional-level playspace with a multi-level structure and play elements for all ages and abilities
• Enhancing the existing wetland to integrate with other proposed activity areas with viewing areas and seating
• A flexible open lawn area for picnics, kickabout, and events
• A hardstand zone with shelters for group gatherings, BBQs, and events

A few things have changed when progressing the Master Plan into a detailed design. These are:

• The playspace has moved to the east of the reserve to allow for more space to include regional-level equipment pieces. A barrier fence is proposed along Kimberly Drive to combat this hazard.
• The bridge over the wetland has been removed to ensure the integrity of the pond is not compromised. The path around the wetland has now been widened with viewing points placed throughout.
• Due to the scale of the Urban Park the size of the carpark has increased to accommodate more users. The entry to the carpark has also been altered to allow access from both the north and south of Kimberley Drive.
• The path and stairs between the residents to the reserve will remain. Options were explored to update this to an accessible path however due to the gradient this was not possible. A handrail will be installed along this path where appropriate.

Click on the icons to learn more about each zone.

The Urban Park will continue through the detailed design and planning approval process with construction scheduled to commence later in the 2022/2023 financial year.