Current projects
On this page:
Some current projects can be found on the Conversations Merri-bek website. This is where our online community can join the conversation about the important matters shaping our city.
However there are a few projects that still sit on this website. The ongoing projects on this page were either in place before we began using the Conversations Merri-bek website, or they are projects that don't require community input at this time.
If you have questions about any of these projects you can email info@merri-bek.vic.gov.au or call us on 9240 1111.
Brunswick, Brunswick East and Brunswick West
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The new cultural hub is under construction - vote for your preferred name.
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Lighting upgrades aims to provide well-lit sports grounds that encourages participation in sports and physical activity, reducing safety concerns and making sports grounds more accessible to the broader community.
Works are scheduled to begin mid-April 2024 and are expected to be complete by December, weather permitting. There will be no disruption to oval use during this time.
Upgrades include:
- Removal of existing light poles which aren’t compliant with current Australian Standards.
- Install 4 new galvanised steel lighting poles at 28 metres high with 4 x 100 LUX LED lights on each pole.
Allard Park - Sports Field Lighting Upgrade Project (PDF 358KB)
For more information contact:
Sedat Sir - Sport and Recreation Project Manager
ssir@merri-bek.vic.gov.au or call 9240 2266 -
Moreland City Council has been an active participant in the Chain of Ponds Collaboration since its inception in 2017.
A key priority area for the group is to improve the 'missing link' between Albion and Merri-bek Roads where access and amenity along the creek is poor.The Collaboration received funding from the Victorian Government Boosting Recreational Use of Waterways Initiative in 2018 to assist this project. Through a process of co-design, a concept plan was developed for the site.
Delivery of this concept is now underway through implementation of a number of key elements in the design.
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We're planning a new park at 14 Frith Street in Brunswick.
Learn more about this project on Conversations Merri-bek.
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Current phase: Construction
One part of our transport response to COVID-19 has been to seek approval to introduce right hand turn bans at key intersections along Sydney Road, Lygon Street and Nicholson Street. These were sought generally during peak times only.
These turn bans will improve pedestrian and cyclist safety by reducing conflict with turning vehicles and will also reduce delay to trams and other traffic. These changes may mean you will need to take a slightly different route when travelling in peak times and this may result in some increases to your travel time.
Where this project is up to
These changes have been approved by the Department of Transport and right-hand turns are banned in the following locations, effective as soon as ‘No Right Turns’ signs are installed.
Sydney Road intersections:
- Eastbound direction at Union Street intersection from 4pm to 6pm.
- Northbound direction at Barkly Street intersection from 4pm to 6pm.
Lygon Street intersections:
- Southbound and northbound directions at Albert Street intersection. Southbound from 4pm to 6pm, and northbound from 4pm to 6pm.
- Southbound and northbound directions at Edward Street intersection. Southbound from 7am to 9am, and northbound from 4pm to 6pm.
- Southbound and northbound directions at Barkly Street intersection. Southbound from 7am to 9am, and northbound from 4pm to 6pm.
Nicholson Street intersections:
- Southbound direction at Victoria Street intersection from 7am to 9am.
- Southbound direction at Albert Street intersection from 7am to 9am.
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We are upgrading 3 public toilets in Temple Park, to improve the services for our community.
As part of our Public Toilet Implementation Plan, we are updating 3 public toilets here in Temple Park, Brunswick.
The new toilets will be safe, accessible, clean, and environmentally sustainable.
What does the upgrade include?
The refurbishment will include upgrades to:
- Accessibility, layout and signage
- Gender integration
- Fixtures and functionality
- Security
When will the upgrade take place?
We expect that works will begin in April 2024. We expect that the improvement works will be finished in June 2024.
Will there be much disruption to the area?
Surrounding properties should not experience much disruption while the works are taking place.
What will be the opening hours?
When completed the new toilets will be open daily from 6am to 6pm 7 days a week.
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We are creating a new early years hub in Brunswick.
Learn more about this project on Conversations Merri-bek.
Coburg and Coburg North
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In December 2021, following extensive community consultation and high levels of community support, Council decided to sell land on Bell Street, Coburg to Coburg Health Hub Pty Ltd for the purposes of developing a health and community services precinct.
Learn more about the Coburg health and community services precinct.
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Current phase: Planning
We're preparing to improve the street design for Louisa Street between Victoria Street and Munro Street. We want to make Louise Street safer, more accessible, and easier to walk around. The upgrades will happen in stages to align with the plan for Central Coburg.
Because Louisa Street does not currently have any footpaths, we are immediately delivering pop-up projects to improve safety and accessibility. The pop-up will allow us to test some ideas for the permanent street design and see how they work for the community.
- Stage 1 Line marking and speedhump installation 31 July - 11 August 2023. Download the PDF to learn more
- Stage 2 Pop-up street installation, September to July 2024
- Stage 3 Permanent design consultation, 2024-2025
- Stage 4 Construction, 2025-2027
Want to keep up to date with the project?
What will be included in the design?
- safer pedestrian crossings in Louisa Street and Munro Street
- better footpaths on both sides of Louisa Street
- street landscaping, including trees, raingardens, and garden beds
- seating, bins and drinking fountains
- speed humps and raised crossings to slow down traffic.
Where is the project up to?
We are seeking registrations for a small group (up to 20 people) for a night-time walking tour in Coburg. The focus of this walking tour is to learn how community members use public spaces in Coburg at night.
Guided night-time walking tour in Coburg
The walking tour is on Thursday 12 October 2023 from 7.30pm to 9pm. It will start at Coburg Leisure Centre and finish at Coburg Railway Station.
What is the walking tour about?
People are less likely to visit areas where they don’t feel safe, and this can impact their movements and sense of freedom. We want to understand how our community feels when moving through Louisa Street.
What will we be doing on the tour?
Participants will be provided with torches and will be asked to provide feedback about how they feel in different spaces and why. You will be able to ‘re-light’ spaces with torches, so that we can better understand how to design spaces for people to feel safe at night.
Who will take part in the tour?
Lighting consultants from our contractor ARUP will lead the walking tour, with support from Merri-bek City Council staff. There will be 7-10 facilitators there to support participants and make sure that everyone has the chance to have their say, whether they prefer to speak in a larger group or one-on-one. The facilitators will provide instructions, answer questions, and take note of participants’ ideas and feedback.
What will the results be used for?
The results of the survey will be used to inform the lighting and space design of Louisa Street, Coburg. It will also help us to understand how people feel in other urban spaces and streets at night. This will help us when we design future parks, open spaces, and street upgrades in Coburg and beyond.
Join the walking tour
More information
Contact Tri Setyani, Principal Urban Designer, at tsetyani@merri-bek.vic.gov.au or 9240 2471
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We’re upgrading 4 public toilets in Coburg Lake Reserve, to improve the services for our community.
As part of our Public Toilet Implementation Plan, we are updating 4 public toilets here in Coburg Lake Reserve, Coburg.
The new toilets will be safe, accessible, clean, and environmentally sustainable.
What does the upgrade include?
The refurbishment will include upgrades to:
- Accessibility and signage
- Gender integration
- Fixtures and functionality
When will the upgrade take place?
We expect that works will begin in April 2024. We expect that the improvement works will be finished in May 2024.
Will there be much disruption to the area?
Surrounding properties should not experience much disruption while the works are taking place.
What will be the opening hours?
When completed the new toilets will be open daily from 6am to 6pm 7 days a week.
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We are upgrading the pavilion to include new changing rooms and other amenities, a unisex umpires' room and new accessible toilets.
Learn more about this project on Conversations Merri-bek.
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Current phase: Planning
Our Asset Management plan has highlighted that De Carle Street in Coburg needs reconstruction between Rennie Street and The Avenue. Following the Merri-bek Integrated Transport Strategy (MITS), road reconstructions must aim to modify the road layout to promote sustainable modes of transport and improve road safety.
During the development of our 10 Year Capital Works Program for cyclists, we proposed a route on De Carle Street to provide an alternative to Sydney Road on the eastern side.
Previously MITS has classified De Carle Street as a local road, but recent traffic counts highlight that volumes have exceeded the preferred maximum volume of 3000 vehicles per day.
We completed two traffic surveys in DeCarle Street in 2019, which showed:
- Outside 36 De Carle Street there was an average daily volume of 2,845 on the week of 9 September to 16 September 2019.
- Outside Merri-bek Primary School there was an average daily volume of 3,524 on the week of 17 June to 24 June 2019.
Where this project is up to
We are proposing to narrow the road width on De Carle Street and install protected bicycle lanes. The protected lanes provide a low stress environment that are essential to getting more people riding bicycles. The image below is a depiction of the road showing bicycle lanes on the sides of the roads closest to the footpath, a small gap between the cycle lanes and car parking closer to the middle of the street, and then a single car lane in the middle of the road.
The preferred width for a local road is 7.2m. This allows for parking on both sides and a single lane of traffic. The bottleneck created when vehicles park opposite each other slows down traffic by requiring drivers to give way to oncoming vehicles. This is a form of passive traffic calming and is desirable in local streets as it discourages through traffic.
Where De Carle Street is narrower between Rennie Street and The Grove, some on-street car parks will need to be removed from one side of the road. Consultation was undertaken with local residents, and a report regarding the project and community feedback was considered during the 8 July 2020 Council Meeting . Our Councillors voted to support the report's recommendation.
We acknowledge that protected bicycle lanes for only two blocks would be an ineffective length of treatment. As such, we are proposing to install protected bicycle lanes from The Avenue to Merri-bek Road. We also want to modify the roundabouts with funding from the 10 Year Capital Works Program for cyclists. An example cross section and plans are in the document section.
De Carle Street road reconstruction and traffic calming documents:
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We are now delivering Hosken Reserve Masterplan.
Learn more about this project on Conversations Merri-bek.
Fawkner
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Current phase: Construction
We plan to refurbish the existing sporting pavilion at Charles Mutton Reserve and construct 2 new change rooms, an accessible toilet, and a unisex umpires room with facilities to be female and family-friendly. We also want to make compliant accessible entries for both change rooms and the social club facilities. We are also planning to upgrade the precinct circuit paths and outdoor fitness equipment.
The new and improved change rooms for players and umpires, plus new accessible entries, will help ensure the local community has access to excellent facilities in the future.
Community drop-in session: March 2021
Local residents, park users, sports club members, and visitors were invited to a community drop-in session at the Northern Saints Football Club at Mutton Reserve in March 2021. This session was to view preliminary plans and let us know what they would like to see as part of the refurbishments. The feedback collected was used to contribute to the design.
Report went to Council: April 2021
Read the Charles Mutton Reserve female-friendly facilities: Outcomes of consultation Report here.
Council endorsed the application to Sport and Recreation Victoria’s Local Sport Infrastructure Fund – Female Friendly Facilities for the upgrade of the change rooms and umpires rooms at Charles Mutton Reserve, Fawkner.Where this project is up to
- Set up temporary fencing and signage: March 2022
- External demo including public toilets and relocation of canopy: May 2022
- External concrete works and trenching between buildings: May 2022
- Structural works and roofing works: June 2022 - September 2022
- Internal works and finishes: September 2022 - October 2022
- Project Completion November 2022.
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Current phase: Design
This project is for the refurbishment of the existing 6 tennis courts, upgrading the lighting to a LED lighting system, and the construction of new perimeter fencing at Fawkner Tennis Club.
The works include:
- the existing four red porous courts being converted to sand-filled artificial grass surfaces
- the two existing non-compliant synthetic courts being extended and refurbished to sand-filled artificial grass surfaces to meet compliance under Tennis Australia’s Facility Guidelines
- new landscape design and associated works to complement the extension of the two current non-compliant synthetic courts
- the installation of a 6-luminaire low level LED lighting system on each court
- the construction of new perimeter black mesh fencing
- the installation of a 'Book a Court system' for public access
Where this project is up to
This project is currently in the design phase with construction works proposed to commence in May 2022. It is anticipated to be completed in July 2022.
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We are upgrading 7 public toilets on Jukes Road, Fawkner, to improve the services for our community.
As part of our Public Toilet Implementation Plan, we are updating 7 public toilets adjacent to Bonwick Street, on Jukes Road in Fawkner.
The new toilets will be safe, accessible, clean, and environmentally sustainable.
What does the upgrade include?
The refurbishment will include upgrades to:
- Accessibility and signage
- Gender integration
- Fixtures and functionality
When will the upgrade take place?
We expect that works will begin in April 2024. We expect that the improvement works will be finished in June 2024.
Will there be much disruption to the area?
Surrounding properties should not experience much disruption while the works are taking place.
What will be the new opening hours?
When completed the new toilets will be open daily from 6am to 6pm 7 days a week.
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Fawkner Leisure Centre is 1 of 6 Aquatic and Leisure Centres owned by Merri-bek City Council. A 20-year Aquatic and Leisure Strategy was developed in 2018 to determine the future position of all six Merri-bek Aquatic and Leisure Facilities. Within this strategy, Fawkner Leisure Centre was flagged for redevelopment into a district-level facility due to its age.
We did extensive community consultation and concept planning for this development.
Learn more about this project on Conversations Merri-bek.
Glenroy
No current projects
Gowanbrae
No current projects
Hadfield
No current projects
Oak Park
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Current phase
Naturalisation of the creek corridor and removal of the concrete channel has been a long ambition for Council and other Chain of Ponds Collaboration partners.
The announcement of $5 million State Government funding in 2020 for a section of naturalisation of the creek in Oak Park/Strathmore is very welcome.
This has been matched with $2 million from Melbourne Water who are the project lead.
Where this project is up to
Melbourne Water is leading the Reimaging Your Moonee Ponds Creek Program. They are doing so on behalf of the Chain of Ponds Collaboration Group and in partnership with Merri-bek City Council, Moonee Valley City Council, City West Water and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP).
You can see updates on this project from Melbourne Water on the Melbourne Water website.
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We are upgrading the pavilion to two changing rooms, a new unisex umpires' room, a new separate storage room and new accessible public toilet.
Learn more about this project on Conversations Merri-bek.
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The proposed expansion of the Oak Park Kindergarten will provide an additional 33 place kindergarten room to meet the service’s increasing enrolments and help cater for the recent introduction of funded three-year-old kindergarten by the Victorian Government.
Learn more about this project on Conversations Merri-bek.
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We upgraded the pavilion to make it more accessible and added female friendly changerooms.
Learn more about this project on Conversations Merri-bek.
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In 2023, the Victorian State Government announced funding to upgrade the existing sports field lights at JP Fawkner East & West Ovals.
The aim is to provide well-lit sports grounds that encourages participation in sports and physical activity, reducing safety concerns and making sports grounds more accessible to the broader community.
Works are scheduled to begin mid-May/early-June 2024 and are expected to be complete by February 2025 weather permitting. There will be no disruption to oval use during this time.
Upgrades include:
- Removal of existing light poles which aren’t compliant with current Australian Standards.
- Install 4 new galvanised steel lighting poles at 28 metres high with 4 x 100 LUX LED lights on each pole at both ovals.
JP Fawkner East & West Ovals - Sports Field Lighting Upgrade Project (PDF)
For more information contact:
Sedat Sir - Sport and Recreation Project Manager
ssir@merri-bek.vic.gov.au or call 9240 2266
Pascoe Vale
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We are refurbishing the existing public toilets in HE Payne Reserve to make them safe, accessible, clean, and environmentally sustainable. The refurbished facility will be open daily from 6am to 6pm, 7 days a week. It will be controlled by a powered, automatic locking system.
Works are scheduled to start in April 2023 and finish in June 2023.
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Lighting upgrades aims to provide well-lit sports grounds that encourages participation in sports and physical activity, reducing safety concerns and making sports grounds more accessible to the broader community.
Works are scheduled to begin late-March 2024 and are expected to be complete by November 2024, weather permitting. There will be no disruption to oval use during this time.
Upgrades include:
- Removal of existing light poles which aren’t compliant with current Australian Standards.
- Install 4 new galvanised steel lighting poles at 28 metres high with 5 x 100 LUX LED lights on each pole.
Raeburn Reserve - Sports Field Lighting Upgrade Project (PDF 400KB)
For more information contact:
Sedat Sir - Sport and Recreation Project Manager
ssir@merri-bek.vic.gov.au or call 9240 2266 -
In 2023, the Victorian State Government announced funding to upgrade the existing sports field lights at Cole Reserve South.
The aim is to provide well-lit sports grounds that encourages participation in sports and physical activity, reducing safety concerns and making sports grounds more accessible to the broader community.
Works are scheduled to begin April 2024 and are expected to be complete by December 2024, weather permitting. There will be no disruption to the use of the reserve during this time.
Upgrades include:
- Removal of existing light poles which aren’t compliant with current Australian Standards.
- Install a minimum of 4 (maximum 6) new galvanised steel lighting poles at 28 metres high with 6 x 100 LUX LED lights on each pole.
Cole Reserve South - Sports Field Lighting Upgrade Project (PDF 467KB)
For more information contact:
Sedat Sir - Sport and Recreation Project Manager
ssir@merri-bek.vic.gov.au or call 9240 2266 -
We are upgrading 3 public toilets in Brearley Reserve, to improve the services for our community.
As part of our Public Toilet Implementation Plan, we are updating 3 public toilets here in Brearley Reserve, Pascoe Vale.
The new toilets will be safe, accessible, clean, and environmentally sustainable.
What does the upgrade include?
The refurbishment will include upgrades to:
- Accessibility, layout and signage
- Gender integration
- Fixtures and functionality
- Security
When will the upgrade take place?
We expect that works will begin in May 2024. We expect that the improvement works will be finished in June 2024.
Will there be much disruption to the area?
Surrounding properties should not experience much disruption while the works are taking place.
What will be the opening hours?
When completed the new toilets will be open daily from 6am to 6pm 7 days a week.