By Jessica Anstice
A popular Drouin park is about to be completely upgraded after the council adopted its landscape plan on Wednesday 12 August.
Bellbird Park’s landscape plan provides clear direction for the use and development of the 23 hectare active and passive recreation precinct for both the council and the community into the future.
The plan shows a new multi-use pavilion and social rooms, estimated to cost $2.6 million, will be built on the existing car park site, while new parking will be constructed to the east of the synthetic pitch as a replacement.
The plan considers the future use of the former pony club site, which includes revegetation, an environment visitor centre, a community hub or more sporting infrastructure.
Boardwalks will be installed in the south west section of the park because it is frequently inundated with stormwater.
New public toilet facilities, signage and bird viewing platforms will also be installed.
“Bellbird Park is an important precinct for Baw Baw Shire offering opportunities for both active and passive recreation,” Baw Baw Shire Council Cr Tricia Jones said.
“This landscape plan provides a clear guide for future improvements to infrastructure, facilities, biodiversity and environment to make the most out of this space.”
At the council meeting, 44 community consultation submissions were heard from soccer and hockey user groups in support of the future sporting pavilion and other upgrades outlined in the plan.
Community feedback informed some amendments to the draft version of the plan including an update to reflect the formalised dog off-leash area, recommendations for future plantings and revegetation to be separated by maintained grassland, additional footpath/walking track connections and the inclusion of local artworks and sculptures in future boardwalk projects.
Councillors acknowledged the hard work and quality of all submissions and thanked the community for being engaged in the consultation process.
“Thank you to each of the respondents who took the time to provide us with valuable feedback,” Cr Jessica O’Donnell said.
“We considered all responses and made the necessary changes to the plan to ensure it reflects the needs and wants of our growing community.”
To best balance the recreational, social and environmental values of the reserve, the final landscape plan has been prepared in collaboration with professional consultants.
In addition to community feedback, the landscape plan has been developed alongside a Project Reference Group (PRG) made up of representatives of the key reserve user groups.
“It’s fantastic to now have an adopted landscape plan that has been developed alongside the community and PRG,” Cr Keith Cook said.
“We now look forward to further consultation with the PRG to develop the best possible outcome for the future sporting pavilion and other key projects.”
The council will continue working with the PRG on the detailed design of the new pavilion and carpark, including input from nearby residents.
