By Callum Ludwig
Improvements works on Wesburn Park have gotten underway, with new car parking the first thing underway.
The works are set to impact the number of community groups that utilise the whole space including the SES Upper Yarra Unit, Wesburn Junior Football Club, Upper Yarra Pony Club and the Yarra Ranges Dogs group, who are concerned about the changes to their space.
Vice President of Yarra Ranges Dogs Joanne Ashley said 15 or 20 members of the group turned up at the park to discuss their thoughts on the works on Wednesday 19 April.
“Workers have jumped straight into asphalting the parking, as they are doing the parking for other areas of the park. My understanding is that other clubs within the park had consultations about this space, but nobody contacted us,” she said.
“We had to rely on the fact that a dog club member was at the park when they were marking out the car park. We think the idea of having parking there is a good idea, but using asphalt is bad as it is very hard on dogs’ paws, gets very hot with no shade there and is right by a very busy access road.”
After initial online consultation, Yarra Ranges Council added a potential option to realign the off-leash dog area for users, including $10,000 to provide 900m of fencing and designated car parking. In the proposal, the dog off-leash area was reduced to about 4200m squared, down from the existing 7000m squared.
President Nicole Murray had previously spoken at a Council meeting in December 2022 addressing some of her concerns about the Wesburn Park Masterplan.
Now with work beginning, Ms Murray said the decision feels hurried.
“We want to collaborate and come to a viable option that we can live with because we’re the ones that are actually using it and to find out what we can actually have,” she said.
“This group formed during Covid and it has become an important therapy for both people and their dogs, giving their dogs a great place to exercise and for them to have a gathering point for connection.”
60 car parks were redistributed from the initial plan to cater to the dog area.
Both Ms Murray and Ms Ashley pointed out discussions they’d like to have about the plans for the dog area.
“We want a four-sided fence, but SES don’t want a four-sided fence put down so we want to have a conversation about an option, perhaps removable fencing, or some bollards,” Ms Murray said.
“From the people we’ve talked to, they don’t just want fencing or parking thrown in if we have $10,000. We’d rather park across the road and spend that money on shade, on better water, on activities or on seats,” Ms Ashley said.
More than 750 comments were received through Yarra Ranges Council’s consultation for the Wesburn Park Master Plan in 2021.
Director of Built Environment and Infrastructure at Yarra Ranges Council Hjalmar Philipp said Wesburn Park is highly valued by our local community and used by many sports and recreation groups in the area.
“Road access carpark upgrades have already begun, including drainage improvements and re-grading, while other upgrades including the toilet block, additional seating installations, minor path upgrades and bike repair stations are set to commence shortly,” he said.
“We have been talking to the local dog walking group about their concerns in relation to some of the proposed carpark spaces. In response to this, the works on those particular spaces have been put on hold to enable further discussions with the group.”
All upgrades are anticipated to be completed by June, including a new fence and gates for the area used by the Upper Yarra Pony Club.
“We will continue to have direct communication with the key user groups of the park as works progress, while also keeping the broader community informed via signage at the site, our website and social media channels,” Mr Phillipp said.
“Specific areas of the park will be closed off as required when works are taking place, including the existing toilet block while it’s being refurbished. Temporary toilet facilities will be provided during this time.”
