Suburban parks and reserves across Melbourne will be given new life as part of the Victorian Government’s $10 million Parks Revitalisation Grants Program.
Forty-one suburban parks will receive revitalisation grants to fund a range of upgrades, including new seating, barbecues, toilets, fencing, landscaping, lighting, shading, path upgrades, as well as demolition of old assets, and installation of park infrastructure, water features and playgrounds.
Residents of Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay will soon benefit from increased recreation and social opportunities, improved safety, and better land use in Yarraville and Williamstown.
Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay City Councils have each been granted $300,000 in funding to support improvements of Cruickshank Park in Yarraville and MacLean Reserve in Williamstown, and to give locals more reason to get outdoors.
The Parks Revitalisation Grants for 41 parks and reserves across Melbourne are part of the $154 million Suburban Parks Program, which is also investing $35 million for 29 new pocket parks and $5 million for up to 16 new off-leash dog parks.
This bold program to deliver quality open space to Melburnians will also create jobs in industries such as construction, design and landscaping as Victoria rebuilds from the economic impacts of coronavirus.
The Victorian Government will work in partnership with Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay City Councils to deliver these projects. The 41 park upgrades are anticipated to be completed in 2022.
For more information about the Suburban Parks Program, including a list of grant recipients, visit: environment.vic.gov.au/suburban-parks
Quotes attributable to Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio
“Melbourne’s open spaces are at the heart of our city and provide social, economic, environmental and health and wellbeing benefits to our communities. We are investing in projects to improve our open space network now, to ensure we meet the needs of the community in the future.”
“By partnering with councils to deliver improvements to existing parks, we are investing in projects that will meet the unique needs of local communities. This will promote visitation by existing users and welcome a variety of different park users.”
Quotes attributable to Member for Williamstown Melissa Horne
“This funding will greatly benefit the communities of Yarraville and Williamstown by encouraging us to make the most of our parks.”