Major achievement
Strategic objective
Green and open spaces are provided, well-utilised and enhanced.
Major initiative 2.1
Improve the sporting experience in Boroondara by setting and meeting service standards for all turf sports areas.
Freeway Golf Course redevelopment project
Freeway Golf Course is a premier public access golf facility located in Balwyn North. It is owned by the City of Boroondara and managed by our new operating partners, GreenSpace Management.
In FY2022-23, we completed a significant redevelopment of the Freeway Golf Course. We needed to reconfigure the course within a smaller footprint of land due to the North East Link Program acquisition of land from the course to build the new North East Link ramps.
Our community shared feedback to inform the new course design which was developed by leading golf architects Pacific Coast Design in collaboration with our officers. A strong focus was placed on environmental sustainability and biodiversity.
We aimed to:
- deliver a high quality, enjoyable 18-hole championship golf course experience for players
- ensure safety issues were addressed
- provide several access points to the clubhouse, car park and amenities
- maximise course distance despite the loss of land
- minimise impacts to the native flora and fauna and improve biodiversity by planting extra trees and understorey vegetation.
The redevelopment took place between late-2021 and early-2023. The new course officially reopened in March 2023. Key features include:
- a reconfigured 4,694-metre course
- a new practice putting green which has increased in size by 35%
- 3.1 hectares of new turf
- new timber-faced bunkers
- 5,000 new native plants
- 104 new native trees
- 2.8 kilometres of new pathways, including some sections of porous lane made up of 60% recycled tyres.
Usage levels of the new course have far exceeded expectations and we have received positive feedback from our community since its reopening.
Theme 2 performance
This is a breakdown of the strategic indicators, progress of initiatives and other service performance indicators for this theme. You can find out more detail about these indicators and previous year’s results in the full report.
You can also read through our continuous improvement initiatives, community engagement, and benchmarking activities for this theme in the full report.
Strategic indicators
There were only 3 strategic indicators for this theme in FY2022-23.
Two of these strategic indicators met or exceeded the forecast, and these were:
- the number of trees on Council managed land (forecast: 111,100 to 112,000, 2022-23 result: 115,762)
- user satisfaction with a range of parks in Boroondara, benchmarked with participating councils (forecast: 80 to 82, 2022-23 result: 80).
An indicator that did not meet our forecast this year was satisfaction with appearance of public areas (forecast: 80% to 82%, 2022-23 result: 72%). The appearance of public areas remains one of our top 3 performing areas in the Customer Satisfaction Survey. The result has reduced by 7 points in 2023, however, we are still performing higher than the benchmark of metro (68) and state (67) levels.
Progress of initiatives in the Budget
Initiatives that were completed in FY2022-23:
- Improve the sporting experience in Boroondara by setting and meeting service standards for all turf sports areas.
- Improve the community access and experience in parks by implementing new grass management practices and proactively managing mowing contracts.
- Provide family-friendly local community opportunities for enjoyment and social connection via the delivery of the 2023 Summer in the Park series showcasing cinema, music and theatre performances.
- Improve the health of the Boroondara community, by working with the YMCA to support programming of physical activity opportunities in Boroondara’s parks and sports grounds.
The one initiative for this theme that commenced in FY2022-23 and is 95% complete was enhancing recreational opportunities for children and families by commencing construction of the play space at Hays Paddock and completing construction of the play spaces at Grovedale and Kate Campbell. The Hays Paddock Playground contract has been awarded, with construction planned to commence mid-2023. The Grovedale Playground is 95% complete, with the final swing to be installed mid-July. The Mary MacKillop Playground construction works are underway, with a minor delay caused by a re-design to protect tree roots uncovered during demolition. Works are anticipated to be completed in late August 2023.