Update - 27 January 2022

Walking tour rescheduled

Due to the high number of COVID-19 cases in the community and to protect the health and safety of community members and our staff, we’re rescheduling the walking tour that was due to be held at The Hill on Saturday 12 February at 11am to discuss makeshift bike jumps and works to undertaken to improve the area in the short term.

We’re seeking to establish a stakeholder reference group for the extension and modification of the Hill. Follow this page to be alerted when expressions of interest open to be involved on this group.

Maintenance update

Rectification and maintenance works have recently been undertaken by the City Works Department at The Hill. Large rocks have been removed, timber furniture repaired and grass, weeds and litter removed. A three monthly maintenance inspection of the track and furniture is in place.

Update - 24 December 2021

After receiving and collating your valuable feedback about mountain biking and The Hill in October, the City has been using the information to plan an approach to renewal and potential improvements that can take place at The Hill Bike Park.

How you can be involved

We are delighted to share that early in 2022 we would like to talk with you about prioritising some initial renewal and improvement works that could happen more immediately to improve the experience for riders at The Hill.

You are invited to join us at the Hill on Saturday 12 February at 11am to do a walking tour of The Hill and discuss the works you’d like to see undertaken to improve the experience in the short term. Put this date in your calendar!

Also, in the slightly longer-term, the City is looking at potential more significant redevelopment opportunities for The Hill, alongside an ongoing maintenance schedule that we will be asking Council to consider in the 2022-23 council budget.

Thank you again for your continued support and interest in mountain bike riding and The Hill Bike Park. We look forward to working with you in 2022.

Update - 26 November 2021

Following the preparation of the summary of community engagement feedback last month, the City has been investigating maintenance work and potential improvements that can be undertaken at the Hill Mountain Bike Park as well as looking at the development of a 'Friends of the Hill' group.

While we'd hoped to have a report on these available in November, this will now be shared with you in December.

Thank you for your continued interest in this project and your support of the Hill as an important mountain bike park in our region.

Update - Thursday 14 October 2021

While the community session to be held at The Hill in September was not able to take place due to covid-19 restrictions, 14 people did take up the opportunity to have a one-on-one chat with one of our recreation team members. Very valuable insights, feedback and ideas were shared with us about the future of The Hill during these conversations and we thank everyone for their participation.

The Summary Report of the community feedback gathered over the past few months is now available for you to review, you can find it in the document library on this page.

Feedback from the conversations and from the survey earlier this year will now be considered by the organisation to identify any possible opportunities for improvements to The Hill in the short to longer term.

A further update is anticipated in late November.

Thank you to everyone who has provided feedback during this engagement, you contributions are really valued.

Update - Friday 27 August

Unfortunately with the uncertainty of the current lockdown we are cancelling the sessions planned for Saturday 4 September.

We really appreciate everyone's interest in mountain bike riding and The Hill Mountain Bike Park and those who had booked to attend a session have been offered an opportunity to have a phone conversation to talk about the feedback results with our team instead.

We will also be sharing the feedback results on this page, in early to mid-September so everyone will have an opportunity to provide further thoughts via the page online.

Update - Wednesday 17 August

We are pleased to share that we are now able to re-schedule the community session. Current covid-19 restrictions will limit our numbers per session, but we will aim to provide enough sessions so that everyone who wishes to be involved can be.

Community members who registered for the session are now invited to book a time at one of four sessions to be held at The Hill on Saturday 4 September, 2021.

Engagement session is planned under current covid-19 restrictions and could be re-scheduled if restrictions change or if it looks to be very wet weather.

Register your attendance this button:

Update - Friday 30 July

Contributions to the survey posted on this page has now closed. Thank you to everyone for your feedback.

We will now collate the contributions and analyse the feedback to share with community and the upcoming in-person session at The Hill Mountain Bike Park when the session is reschedule.

'Follow' the page if you'd like to receive project updates.

Update - Monday 19 July

Due to the Victorian Government’s COVID-19 restrictions, we are unable to host the in-person engagement session scheduled for this Saturday 24 July.

We aim to reschedule the event once restrictions are eased. In the meantime, this online engagement and survey will remain open for feedback.

Background

We're seeking feedback from bike riders, their families and any interested residents about opportunities to improve and enhance the Hill Mountain Bike Park, located at the corner of Fyans St and Shannon Ave in Newtown.

Feedback submitted will inform future planning of open spaces in the region as part of our commitment to delivering facilities which support healthy communities.

A recent assessment of bike tracks and jumps has identified a number of makeshift jumps and structures throughout the region.

To reduce the risk of injury, jumps and structures at tracks along the Deviation in Fyansford and at Zillah Crawcour Park will need to be removed whilst we continue to look for more opportunities to encourage and support outdoor physical activity for all ages.

We know that many young people are involved in bike riding and understand that this may be disappointing to some community members who have created and used these makeshift bike tracks and jumps, however, public safety needs to be our top priority.

We appreciate there is interest from the community to create additional facilities for mountain bike and BMX riders in the region, particularly for more advanced users. We are interested in hearing about your experiences of using the nearby The Hill Mountain Bike Park in Newtown.

How to have your say

NOTE: Contributions to this survey have now closed.

Please complete the survey below, and if you are interested in being involved in further engagement about improving the Hill Mountain Bike Park, leave your details in survey.

A face-to-face session with bike riders was to be held at the Hill Mountain Bike Park from 11.00am to 1.00pm on Saturday 24 July but has been postpone. a new date will be posted here as soon as restrictions allow.

PLEASE NOTE - Current covid-19 restrictions will limit numbers, if you wish to attend please register via the survey below and add your email address so we can contact you about session times.