Budget update 2024

We are happy to advise that there has been excellent progress in funding improvements to Aldershot Reserve in line with the Masterplan.

In January this year we announced that a fenced dog park would be built in the reserve, funded by the Australian Government’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure fund. Works have commenced on site and are expected to be complete by mid-year. Path renewal works across the reserve will also be undertaken in conjunction with the dog park.

During its 23 April meeting, our Council released its draft 2024-25 to 2027-28 budget for community feedback.

The draft budget includes funding for the next stage of master plan works at Aldershot Reserve. The final project budget and scope of works will be confirmed subject to the outcome of a grant application that the City has submitted to the Victorian Government's Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund.

We encourage you to visit the Proposed 2024-25 to 2027-28 Budget Have Your Say page and provide feedback on the budget. The engagement period closes at 5pm on 22 May.

A final budget will be endorsed during the Council’s June meeting, once all feedback has been considered.

Grant application outcomes are expected to be announced from July. Once the total project budget is confirmed the next steps will be to undertake detailed design followed by construction.

Project update January 2024

We would like to acknowledge the contribution of the Australian Government who has provided funding for this community project – a fantastic addition to Aldershot Reserve – a brand new dog park!

Our team is hard at work, currently in the detailed design phase of this exciting project. It is anticipated that the construction will be completed in the end of this financial year (June 2024).

Stay tuned for more updates as we bring this vision to life.

Rising construction sector costs are having a big impact on our planned capital works program, including projects such as this one.

Cost escalations of around $130 million mean we can afford to deliver fewer projects, and as a result we’ll have to place a number of previously budgeted projects on hold for now.

Unfortunately, this project is one of those that has not been listed in our proposed budget for the next four years, meaning it is planned to be placed on hold.

The project is still on our agenda and we’ll be looking for ways to fund it as soon as we can – including finding savings within our own budget, and seeking external funding.

The proposed budget is available for community feedback here until 24 May and we encourage you to have your say. All feedback will be considered before the final budget is presented to our Council for consideration on 27 June.

If you haven’t already, we also encourage you to follow this project page for future updates.

Masterplan implementation

  • Future Stages

    The City will continue to seek funding for delivery of future stages of the masterplan.

Masterplan development process

We undertook two stages of community consultation during the design process.

  • In the first stage we gathered information from the community to assist with the preparation of a draft Concept Plan for Aldershot Reserve, St Albans Park. The initial feedback from the community was used to develop a concept design.
  • In the second stage of consultation the Concept Plan was shared with the community for feedback. 95% of respondents supported the plan.

The plan and supporting report was finalised and then endorsed by Council at the meeting held on 23 March 2021.

Project Timeline

  • Timeline item 1 - complete

    October 2019

    Preliminary site assessments completed

  • Timeline item 2 - complete

    November 2019

    Assessment of reserve by Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) specialist

  • Timeline item 3 - complete

    December 2019

    Stage 1 community consultation

  • Timeline item 4 - complete

    January - March 2020

    Draft concept plan development

  • Timeline item 5 - complete

    May - 9 June 2020

    Stage 2 community consultation - feedback on concept plan closed on 9 June, 2020.

  • Timeline item 6 - complete

    June - July 2020

    Community feedback collated.

    Data analysis completed. Summary engagement report complete. Full engagement report to be submitted to Council Meeting in 2021 with master plan.

  • Timeline item 7 - complete

    August - October 2020

    Minor updates to concept plan based on consultation feedback.

  • Timeline item 8 - complete

    March 2021

    Master plan endorsed by Council at meeting held on 23 March 2021.

  • Timeline item 9 - complete

    Future Stages

    Council officers will continue to seek funding opportunities for the delivery of the remaining master plan works.

  • Timeline item 10 - active

    Dog park construction 2024

  • Timeline item 11 - active

    Playground upgrade design 2024

    For more details visit the here.

REPORTS

Here's the full master plan report and community feedback summaries from the project.

  • Stage 1 Community Feedback Summary

    We received lots of responses to our first round of consultation in 2019 to help us identify the community priorities for Aldershot Reserve.

    Click here for a summary of the feedback 

  • Stage 2 Community Feedback Summary

    We had a great response to our second round of consultation. Here's a summary of how the community responded to the concept plan.

    Click here for consultation summary