ALBERT PARK MASTER PLAN December 16, 2016

The Albert Park Masterplan, the 25 year vision for Albert Park, was released by Parks Victoria in June 2019 following a period of community feedback  during 2017 and 2018.  For further information visit their website at Albert Park Master Plan

It has been 20 years since any comprehensive planning occurred for Albert Park as a whole and Melbourne has changed markedly in that time.  A master plan was needed to set the vision for the park and guide it through the next stage of its history. The goals of the project are to create a park that is:

• Inspiring and exciting, as well as peaceful and relaxing;
• Treasured by the local communities and the community of Melbourne;
• Relevant to a growing and changing population;
• Generating revenue for the improvement of the park;
• Working towards sustainability in terms of natural resource use, and
• Able to respond to increasing and changing community pressures

Of particular note for the JAAG community are the plans for the Fitzroy Street precinct.  Here are some  extracts from the plan:

The landscape treatment in this area provides for a functional space for small to medium-scale programmed community events such as markets, community or local school gatherings.  This will be a leafy urban space characterised by a grid of trees with joining canopies that provide shade and dappled light supporting an open space for community events.

As part of the City of Port Phillip Fitzroy Street street- scape upgrade, Fitzroy Street will be lined on each side with a row of plane trees. A second row along the Albert Park/Fitzroy Street boundary will create a strong avenue character, and behind this second row will be multiple rows of exotic trees with touching canopies. Tall exotic tree species with clear trunks will provide shade during hot weather, and allow the warm sun to filter through the canopy during the colder, winter months.  Low garden beds will provide additional visual interest and separation,and increase the biodiversity of this urban park setting. The pavement surrounding these trees will be a hardwearing and resilient permeable pavement treatment to accommodate a high volume of activity and foot traffic.

There are also plans for supporting the indigenous areas of the park as follows:

The Red Gum Triangle is managed as native bushland as it provides a snapshot of the indigenous vegetation of the area.  Red Gum Triangle boasts stands of Red Gums and other native trees, with a characteristic native under storey supporting natural ecosystems, providing a picturesque, shaded pocket of local, indigenous vegetation and is accessed by a low key pedestrian path.

The Albert Park Master Plan supports an approach for a flourishing indigenous under storey at the Red Gum Triangle and promotes indigenous planting through to the area surrounding the Ngargee (Corroboree tree). The aim is to enhance the original identity of the landscape of Albert Park by strengthening the indigenous plantings in this small, little-known pocket of the park. Extending indigenous plantings further into the centre of the park along the southern perimeter of the lake gives this area the recognition it deserves.

The restoration of the indigenous plant community at the Red Gum Triangle will support natural regeneration of species and ensure the full range of indigenous plant types are established at the site, including low ground covers, mid-height under storey and trees. The future management and landscape response will respect and respond to the aspirations of the Traditional Owners of this area and further works will be undertaken in collaboration with the Traditional Owners.