A new sporting pavilion, covered tennis and netball courts and improvement’s for walking and cycling are some of the potential changes proposed for Yarra Junction Recreation Reserve, in Council’s latest Draft Master Plan.
The Draft Master Plan has been developed using direct feedback from user groups of the recreation reserve and feedback from the local community, and proposes several potential improvements for the coming 10 years, including:
- Surface and lighting improvements for the oval;
- An alternate training and playing venue for the football and cricket clubs’ increasing activities (possibly at a local school);
- Collocating all sports into a single improved sporting and community building to include additional female change facilities and upgraded social spaces;
- Redevelop and upgrade tennis courts (courts 3 and 4) to provide additional multisport (tennis and netball) courts;
- Develop an additional youth social recreation infrastructure adjacent to the existing skate park to incorporate a multisport activity area, shelter and seating;
- Convert the unused bowls green into a community plaza and events space to support social recreation, community events and activities;
- Work with Melbourne Water to improve access to the Little Yarra River for active recreation as well as introduce some nature play on the north-eastern side of the reserve to complement the river access;
- Advocate for safer pedestrian access across Warburton Highway from the reserve to the local shopping precinct;
- General reserve improvements, including car parking, seating, outdoor gym equipment, path network and signage and improved safety such as traffic calming; and
- Allocate possible future space to support improvements to the Yarra Centre (to be considered in a future Feasibility Study).
O’Shannassy Ward Councillor, Jim Child, said the Draft Master Plan had been created with feedback from reserve users, to help solve short and long-term issues at the reserve.
“With the town growing and a surge in growth with our local sporting clubs – including women’s Australian Rules teams – the ageing facilities at the reserve just don’t meet the current demands of the community, let alone the demands that will come up in the future,” Cr Child said.
“This Master Plan will help us to map out and deliver improvements to meet those needs and ensure the reserve has spaces for the entire community.
“We’ve heard from tennis players, netballers, footballers, Yarra Centre users, clubs and casual reserve users about what’s important to them when they think about the reserve’s future and where they think the current facilities are falling short.
Cr Jim Child at the Yarra Junction Recreation Reserve in 2018.
“That feedback has been used directly to create this Draft Master Plan and now we’re hoping that the community will take a look at the draft and let us know what they think.”
The Yarra Junction Recreation Reserve Master Plan is part of the Live.Move.Yarra Ranges initiative.
The Live.Move.Yarra Ranges initiative aims to assist and enable our community to take part in a series of priority projects, initiatives and programs over the coming years to make it easier for you to be part of a healthier, happier and more active community.
Council identified a goal of ensuring people in the Yarra Ranges are physically active in its Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2017-2021. This project directly aligns with that goal, along with a goal of ensuring every child and young person can thrive and reach their potential, and that every older person can enjoy active and healthy lives.
