Chipton park reopened!
Chipton Park refurbishment, including construction of a new playground, has been completed and reopened to the public on 6 November 2019. The final design is a direct outcome of an extensive community engagement and design process.
Background to the project
Chipton Park (formerly Crimea Reserve) has been upgraded to maintain Council’s commitment to extend, connect and diversify our open space network to cater for increased demand. It will provide and maintain vibrant outdoor play spaces that create opportunities for fun, adventure and learning for all.
Three stages of community consultation were run in October 2017, March 2018, August 2018 and December 2018 to give the community the opportunity to provide ideas and feedback on the landscape upgrade.
The key themes for improvement identified in the community engagements were:
- Access to the reserve.
- Making the most of the park and maximising green space.
- Updating the playground.
- Providing seating for different uses, locations and users.
- Shade.
- Improve the feeling of safety after dark.
What's in the park design?
Features of the design include:
Making the park feel larger
The design of the nature strips and removing the triangular bluestone garden bed aims to open the current lawn area across the footpaths and into the nature strips and make them feel part of the Park. Garden beds along Charnwood Road and Crimea Street will provide a buffer to vehicle traffic, especially for children.
New Rain Garden along Charnwood Road edge
The garden beds along Charnwood Road and Crimea Street were designed to provide a buffer to vehicle traffic, especially for children. Council has integrated A Water Harvesting scheme into the Park design and the garden bed along Charnwood Road will now also be a Rain Garden and collect stormwater off the road, filter it and allow it to soak into the landscape instead of washing into Port Phillip Bay.
A new playground and improved access
The playground is proposed to consist of both nature play and traditional elements and will provide for climbing, swinging, balancing, spinning and nature-based imaginative play. The grass mound will be raised to incorporate a slide with rubber play embankment and natural stone staircase.
A concrete pathway from the Charnwood Road side will provide access into the park and playground - to a paved area with seating and an accessible rubber soft-fall path into the playground.
More and improved furniture
New concrete and timber seat walls will surround the paved area. Three Council-standard park benches and a picnic setting will be installed on concrete pads and will provide locations to sit quietly away from the playground. The existing chess table will be relocated and installed onto a concrete pad. Rubbish and recycling bin enclosures and a drinking fountain are new additions.
More and improved planting and trees
The design includes numerous new and improved garden beds with robust and attractive plantings. The existing garden beds will have the bluestone edges removed and will be re-planted.
The existing grass nature strips will be planted with new lawn, garden beds and trees to enclose and enlarge the Park, act as a buffer to the roads and increase biodiversity. New trees will provide shade.
Some of the existing exotic trees and plants will be removed as part of this project and any trees to be removed will be subject to Council’s formal community notification process.
