Be part of the Flemington Community @ Debneys Park

Hello, and thank you for your feedback so far! Providing your thoughts will mean the Flemington Community @ Debneys Park Hub truly reflects who you are. In person, more than 473 people have been reached and online, and there has been over 700 visitors to the Your Say page!

If you haven’t had a chance to make it down yet and speak with one of our team, please come down soon as this round of consultation closes on 14 May. Join us at an upcoming session – you can find all the details at the top right-hand side of this page, or you can fill out our online survey right here, under the ‘Surveys and Forms’ tab.

A few questions about the location of the Hub have come up. The location has been informed through expert urban design advice which applies best practice in maximising use of the northern light; seeks to place the indoor/outdoor community use as remotely as possible from the traffic noise of CityLink and Mount Alexander Road; and avoids built form proximate to the Moonee Ponds Creek.

In its proposed location, the hub will ideally:

• be seen from the main park entries to provide a sense of welcome upon arrival
• be centrally located for all Flemington locals
• be a safe space that people will walk and cycle to, and through
• be closer to the school so we can explore shared use of facilities
• have the best access to sunshine, which is especially important during cold dark days, making it more welcoming and available for lots of uses all year 'round, inside and out
• provide terrific access from the oval and not cast shadow on the playing fields
• allow users to look out and see the whole park, making sure it is safe, open and no areas are blocked off by buildings.

We’re excited to share three draft visions for what the Flemington Community @ Debneys Park could look like in the short, medium and long term.

These visions are shown as ‘concept designs’. They are designs that allow us to see what the possibilities are, including what can fit, where. They are not final. We are exploring three options to explore different possibilities.

We are keen to know what you think about the concept designs.

Your feedback will help us to decide on a preferred concept option that we can develop further and present back to you later in 2019.

The concept design options have been guided by what you have told us previously, our research and our understanding of what is needed in the Flemington neighbourhood and surrounds.

To view the concept designs go to the Document Library in the right hand column. For more information on the concept designs, refer to Project Information in the right hand column.

Tell us what you about our concept designs and comment in our guestbook, or fill out our Feedback Form at the 'Surveys & Forms' tab.

Work is progressing on the concept designs for our new community space. These will soon be available for you to view, and provide feedback on.

Input from residents, community groups and organisations, as well as members of the Flemington Neighbourhood Advisory Group and staff of the Flemington Community Centre, continues to guide the designs. Most recently, we gained feedback on the vision for the project, and design inspiration for different types of facilities including building height and size.

This consultation reinforced Debneys Park as a place for the whole community. We heard that the designs should be welcoming of all, cater to many interests of local residents, and encourage people to use the park, get to know their neighbours and spend time with their families.

Buildings can be significant but should be beautiful and respectful of the surrounding parkland.

For further information on the consultation held in October and November 2018 please refer to the document library in the right column.

The new vision for Flemington Community @ Debneys Park is:

“Debneys Park welcomes, nurtures and nourishes everyone.”

This key statement is based on feedback from stakeholders and reflects the elements of community, connection and celebration that we've learned are important.

The vision will guide our decisions and priorities for the precinct including its design, use and management.

An Issues and Opportunities report has been prepared by MGS architects. This report analyses the key features of the precinct, including the park and all facilities. The issue and opportunities will guide the next stage of the project which is to develop design options.

Future consultation

Council is strongly committed to the delivery of this project. Work has begun on concept designs and there is $150,000 in the 2018/19 Budget for preliminary design and investigation works.

We have already conducted a series of consultations to help inform the Debneys Park Precinct Plan and Flemington community hub design. You have told us what you most like about Debneys Park, how you use it, and what you would like to see improved.

We've planned further consultations with the community, taking place in late 2018 / early 2019.

Flemington Neighbourhood Advisory Group

We’ve established a Flemington Neighbourhood Advisory Group comprised of Councillors, community members, key tenants and facility users of the Flemington Community Centre and Debneys Park. The group plays an important role by informing and guiding the project and assisting in circulating project information to the community.