Monash Council provides a diverse array of play opportunities for children throughout our network of 138 playspaces located in parks and reserves. By providing a breadth of playground experiences that range from small pocket playgrounds, with 3-5 place pieces, to regional destination playspaces (such as Valley Reserve in Mt Waverley), Council aims to provide a range of environments where children can explore, create, imagine, interact and reflect.
Council endorsed the Playground and Playspace Strategy at its 25 August 2020 Meeting.
More information:
Report to Council Meeting 25 August 2020(PDF, 170KB)
Minutes of Council Meeting 25 August 2020, item 2.1(PDF, 731KB)
Summary of Community Consultation and Engagement(PDF, 284KB)
Proposed Playground Classification(PDF, 157KB)
Background
Council sought community feedback on the best ways to improve our playgrounds in Monash, considering the play needs of you and your family, both now and into the future until Monday 23 September 2019. All survey responses and submissions were considered in the development of the draft Playground and Playspace Strategy.
The draft Playground and Playspace Strategy was endorsed and released for community consultation at the Council Meeting on 26 May 2020.
Council approved the draft Playground and Playspace Strategy for public exhibition, however the Appendix 2 to the Officer Report has been altered by moving Progress Park to Year 2021/2022.
Council sought community feedback on this draft Strategy until Friday 3 July 2020.
More information:
Report to Council Meeting 26 May 2020(PDF, 216KB)
Decisions of Council Meeting 26 May 2020, item 2.2(PDF, 432KB)
Community Consultation Report (Appendix 2)(PDF, 818KB)
Favourite playgrounds
Council has received some wonderful drawings from children depicting some of their favourite playgrounds in Monash. A big thank you goes out to all the kids who have shared their drawings to celebrate the announcement of our Draft Playground and Playspaces Strategy.
The draft Strategy considers playspaces with a holistic and systematic approach, involving consultation with internal Council departments and the community to establish
- A clear vision that ensures Monash playspaces offer a broad range of high quality, creative play opportunities for different age groups and abilities across the municipality.
- A Playground Hierarchy or classification framework that provides clarity around playground provision and services levels and a variety of play experiences for the community, i.e. from larger regional destination playspaces to small pocket playspaces.
- Future demand for playspaces in Monash including potential gaps in provision and possible sites for the development of new playgrounds.
- Equitable access to playgrounds.
Playground design and classifications
Playspace designs should be prepared in accordance with the following design principles and standards to ensure consistent quality and functional performance is delivered across the playspace renewal program.
Playspace Design Principles and Considerations(PDF, 710KB)
Playground hierarchy is used to provide a diversity of play experiences for the community and classify the scale and primary design focus for each playground.
List of Monash playgrounds(PDF, 159KB)
Playground classifications and supporting infrastructure(PDF, 83KB)
More information
Recreation Services
Phone: (03) 9518 3581
Email: recreation@monash.vic.gov.au
Priorities and directions
The Strategy will provide a future direction for the provision of play spaces using a holistic approach based on:
- Strategic priorities, as identified in A Healthy and Resilient Monash: Integrated Plan 2017-2021 and the Monash Open Space Strategy 2018;
- Industry best practice e.g. Play Australia principles and Australian Standards for playground design;
- Benchmarking findings on playground provision and services levels provided by neighbouring Local Government Areas (LGAs);
- Independent Auditor Playground Condition and Lifespan Data; and
- Community consultation findings.
This will assist in achieving more equitable access to quality playgrounds.
Timeline
June – August 2019
Stage 1: Research and Data Review
- Strategic Context
- A Healthy and Resilient Monash: Integrated Plan 2017-2021
- Monash Open Space Strategy 2018
- Child & Young People Friendly City
- Play Australia - Industry Best Practice
- Australia Standards for playgrounds, equipment and surfaces
- Playground Condition Audit Data (2018)
- Asset Management Data (asset lifecycles)
- Local Government Benchmarking (2019)
- Demographic analysis and population forecasts
- Playground Mapping
July-September 2019
Stage 2: Community Consultation
- Monash 2021 and Beyond – Community Survey (2017)
- Listening Posts – Community Feedback
- Playground Strategy Consultation at Have your Say
- On-line community survey
- Hard copy survey
- Written submissions
October-November 2019
Stage 3: Data Analysis & Synthesis
- Analyse data & consultation findings
- Identify potential gaps in playground provision based on population forecasts and existing playground mapping
- Identify playground development priorities
- Develop draft Strategy
- Report to Council on draft Strategy
Early 2020
Stage 4: Exhibition of Draft Strategy
- Written submissions
- Council adoption of Strategy