By Mikayla van Loon
The heart of Kilsyth is in the early stages of getting a revamp with the draft master plan for the recreation reserve to be released by Yarra Ranges Council at the end of the month.
Voting to put the draft plan out for community consultation at the council meeting on Tuesday 14 February, Councillor Len Cox said the reserve on Colchester Road is “extensively used by many many residents of Kilsyth”.
“This recreation reserve is one of the oldest and one I might add, of the most used in the Kilsyth area,” he said.
“It has a very high quality football come cricket oval and a number of other facilities for sport, plus it borders the Kilsyth shopping centre on one side and the Walmsley Retirement Village on the other.”
Used as the home ground for the Eastern Ranges Football Club and as the headquarters for AFL Outer East, the reserve is highly frequented by the sport going community.
But the draft master plan wants to create a family friendly and accessible community space that compliments the Kilsyth residential area.
Kilsyth Community Action Group (KCAG) chairman Mike O’Meara said the Kilsyth Recreation Reserve has so much potential to contribute to the liveability of the suburb if developed correctly.
“We see [the reserve] as an integral part of the heart of Kilsyth idea, which is really based around the Kilsyth shopping centre and Memorial Hall precinct. So any development there, we are extremely supportive of,” he said.
“The problem, of course, is it is a hidden treasure. People don’t know it’s there because it’s buried behind the Dan Murphy’s and the Woolworths area.”
Having been part of the initial consultation process a couple of years ago, Mr O’Meara said originally KCAG was pushing for some updated landscaping, better pathways and a playground.
With the tired and dilapidated tennis court club rooms left untouched, Mr O’Meara said another element KCAG suggested was a coffee shop or place of gathering.
“The two main things are a facility, whether it’s the old club rooms, or whether it’s something else, but [something] that attracts people to spend some time just relaxing and meeting.
“Whatever that facility looks like, if it encourages people to go behind the shopping centre, or come in through the football ground entrance or come up from Walmsley, that’s positive.
“The other thing is the playground. The nearest playground is, I think, Pink’s Reserve, and for the families who are using that shopping centre, that’d be just marvellous if they knew that they had something at the back there.”
A draft plan prepared in September 2022 lays the foundation for potential inclusions of a multi-purpose court, a playspace, pump track and sensory garden, with improved infrastructure.
Cr Sophie Todorov said the draft master plan indicates improved connectivity for local residents and takes into consideration all people who may use the reserve.
“It’s no longer just building a sports pavilion and that’s all it is, it’s actually looking at how best can we suit the whole of [the] community, how can we suit all demographics, the old, the young, those with disability…so I think it really puts a lot of thought to that and it’s not just a sports rec reserve,” she said.
Mr O’Meara said anything that helps make Kilsyth more attractive to the community and visitors, while showing off the natural landscape and view of the Dandenong Ranges, is welcomed.
“It’s crying out for the attention that council now appears to be giving it and we were very encouraged to hear that it was coming up for endorsement from the council to take it out to further stakeholder consultation,” he said.
Despite opening engagement with the community, funding wouldn’t become available until 2026 due to limited funds in the Walling Ward because of the purchasing of 150 Cambridge Road.
The council estimates the total overall cost of the project to be $3.8 million, of which $2.3 million would be funded by the council and the remainder hopefully contributed by State or Federal governments grant schemes.
A $45,000 contribution would also be sought from the AFL to improve the timekeeper’s room, scoreboard and coach boxes, with a further $20,000 contribution towards a new storage shed and nets behind the goals.
Raising concerns about the amount of money being spent in the Walling Ward area, Cr Andrew Fullagar said acknowledgement of other community needs is important.
“I have concerns about the amounts of money being spent in the Kilsyth area as a wider councillor view and of course I’m referring to Pinks Reserve and 150 Cambridge Road so perhaps there’s a need to coordinate priorities between these to fit our tight budgets,” he said.
“I’ll certainly be advocating for a shift towards our services away from sports and rec which seems to have dominated for a number of years.”
Community consultation will open on 27 February via the Shaping Yarra Ranges website, with residents encouraged to provide feedback on the plan.
“This motion gives us the opportunity to put it out to the public, there is a plan and I think it is a good one,” Cr Cox said.
“Like with all these things, the council actually does like to get public opinion on these issues and that will no doubt come in in quite large numbers.”
