Mel Yuan for Brunswick

A District park for Brunswick is a matter of urgency and priority. Council has had from 2008-2015 to act on a District park for the Brunswick park complex but has done nothing. 

The Brunswick park complex is one of only two District parks, outside the creek corridors, in the whole of Moreland. As such a significant park, it warrants a District play ground. As the play space strategy identifies, Brunswick and Brunswick East are expected to have the highest proportion of young people in the municipality – while Brunswick East has a new District playground, Brunswick does not. In contrast, Pascoe Vale and Coburg both have 2 District playgrounds.

The existing District playspaces are clustered in the centre and west of the municipality in the largest area of Neighbourhood Zone while increasing population densities around the Major Activity Centres and Residential Growth Zones continue to be under-served with open space and therefore play space.

The area between the Brunswick park complex and the train line is already identified in MOSS as being a priority area for park space. It’s proximity to the Brunswick Activity Centre further enforces how critical provision of open space is for the whole area. This park complex crucially also lies between two Neighbourhood Activity Centres. Given the absence of any plans to increase the parkland in the areas identified in MOSS, it is crucial that the existing parks be developed properly – including appropriate play spaces for children and young people.

Brunswick must be specifically included in the section on major Activity Centres as one of only three major activity centres. “Exploring play elements in urban spaces” is manifestly inadequate.

We refer to the Darebin definition of a District playspace: “This a larger, off-the-shelf equipment or custom-designed playspace with a medium level of accessible design to and within the playspace. This playspace co-exists with a range of other facilities and caters for a catchment within each precinct (2km).”