The Domain Parklands is a patchwork of beautiful parks and gardens making up nearly 123 hectares, including the Royal Botanic Gardens, Shrine of Remembrance, Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Government House, Alexandra Park, Alexandra Gardens, Queen Victoria Gardens and the Kings Domain.

The name ‘Domain Parklands’ was first used in the City of Melbourne’s 1997 Domain Parklands Master Plan.

The City of Melbourne has created a new draft Master Plan for the Domain Parklands to guide the management of the parkland over the next 20 years.

The City of Melbourne’s Master Plan will guide the future management of the Domain Parklands over the next 20 years.

Developing the master plan required a combination of research, analysis, planning and key stakeholder and community engagement. The analysis included research into community use, heritage, landscape characters, traffic and parking, horticulture, and other social and environmental values of the park.

While the Master Plan outlines a vision for the future of the parklands, the primary focus of tasks and recommendations from the Master Plan will be directed at the areas where the City of Melbourne has responsibility.

Our plan focuses on the areas we manage and seeks to create a strong, shared vision for the whole parkland, treasuring the important destinations within it.

This master plan has been prepared to guide our management of the parklands for the next 20 years. It will help us to

• Nurture a healthy, resilient and beautiful landscape
• recognise the Aboriginal cultural heritage of the place,
• improve the visitor experience,
• improve access to and within the parklands, and
• collaborate with land managers in future management of the parklands

The Domain Parklands are one of our city’s most loved green spaces. Since the first Master Plan was released in 1997, much has occurred including drought, water initiatives, a dramatic increase in visitors, the Observatory gate development, Victorian heritage registration, as well as parts of the parklands recently being registered on the National Heritage list.

Additionally many trees in the Domain Parklands are in decline and there is a need to plan for their replacement. The parklands also face broader challenges such as climate change, extreme heat and water restrictions and the increasing levels of use as Melbourne becomes a 24-hour city. There is also an increase in urban renewal pressure.

For these reasons it’s the right time to for a new Master Plan.

No, the City of Melbourne does not manage all parts of the Domain Parklands. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Shrine of Remembrance, Sidney Myer Music Bowl and Government House have separate Governance and purposes. The parklands create the setting for these important places.

Each of the Land Managers has responsibility for the areas they manage. The Shrine of Remembrance and Melbourne Gardens (the Royal Botanic Gardens) have landscape master plans for the areas they manage. While the Domain Parklands Master Plan focuses on the areas managed by the City of Melbourne, it also guides management for the areas of common interest for all the Land Managers.

The Domain Parklands are Crown Land, managed by 5 different Land Managers.

We have worked with the different organisations within the Domain Parklands to develop the Master Plan. These are;

• Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria
• Shrine of Remembrance Trust
• Office of the Governor (Government House)
• Victorian Arts Centre Trust (Sidney Myer Music Bowl)
• Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning

The City of Melbourne’s Open Space Strategy 2012 describes how Melbourne is identified as one of the most liveable cities in the world, and that a major contribution to this liveability is the quality and diversity of our open spaces.

Open space is important for many reasons, including social connectedness, mental and physical health and wellbeing, mitigation of urban heat, biodiversity, cultural heritage and character, economics and tourism, events and arts. The Domain Parklands have a capital city role in the Open Space Strategy.

Two previous phases of community engagement provided valuable input to inform this draft master plan:

Phase 1 – Share your memories of Domain Parklands

The first phase was conducted in September to November, 2015. It gathered information about what people value about the Domain Parklands by inviting them to share memories, prompting conversations about the themes and aspirations for the future of the parklands. Specific programs were held to engage with children.

Phase 2 – Discussion Paper

The second phase in July to August 2016 involved the release of a discussion paper seeking public comment on key themes to set the direction for the future of the Domain Parklands.

Good access to and around the parklands is a major focus of the master plan. Good access is an important part of improving the visitor experience, but it is also essential to ensure anyone who wants to visit the parklands is able to.

There are many improvements proposed to access in the parklands. These can be summarised under improvements to entrances, pathways, and signage. They also consider the barriers created by the road network and ways to improve access across these roads – while also making the pedestrian the priority as well (where possible). There will also be an increase in number and distribution of accessible car parks.

Improvements to access also include recommendations about access by public transport. The proposed Anzac station will provide a new entry to the parklands and this will also require new paths to bring pedestrians from the station into the parklands, including to the Shrine of Remembrance and Melbourne Gardens entrances. Many tram stops adjacent to the parklands do not meet any paths into the parklands, so these connections need to be made. The paths next to to the river are not compliant with good standards for access and these will be improved.

An extensive road system surrounds and dissects the parklands. The network within the parklands includes Alexandra Avenue, Linlithgow Avenue, Birdwood Avenue and Dallas Brooks Drive.

The roads and parking spaces in the Domain Parklands are used by parkland users and non- parkland users.

The key findings of our traffic study showed how the roads are currently used:

• Most traffic is through traffic.
• There is more than adequate parking for parkland users.

Visitor numbers to the Domain Parklands continue to grow every year. City of Melbourne research has found through traffic and commuter parking has a significant impact on parkland amenity and visitor experience. Repurposing some car parking to better support park visitors, boost access, amenity and safety will have a positive impact for pedestrians, cyclists and recreation in the area. Accessible parking for disabled parking permit holders will be maintained and increased in key destinations.

As the roads occupy a significant area within the parklands they present several opportunities to improve the pedestrian movement and enhance the parkland visitor experience. In some locations we may be able to repurpose some road space to improve tree planting plots, which will better support the health of the trees.

so these connections need to be made. The paths next to to the river are not compliant with good standards for access and these will be improved.

The research for the master plan showed many car parking issues and opportunities. It showed there are over 1300 car parking spaces, but many of these are used for car parking for purposes other than visiting the park, including commuter parking.

We recognise that it is important for some people to drive and park at the parklands when visiting. However, the parking analysis gives us confidence that some car parking can be repurposed in several areas in the parklands.

While parking to visit destinations within the Domain Parklands will continue to be provided, some on-street car parking can be repurposed to improve the amenity, safety, visual experience and better connect the parklands.

This will provide space for pedestrian crossings on internal roads and more dedicated cycle lanes within the parklands. These dedicated cycle lanes will help reduce the current congestion in spots where cyclists are using busy pedestrian paths.

Changes to parking restrictions in some areas will free up parking for genuine park visitors.

At present there are many locations in the parklands where walking along the park paths is adjacent to parked cars and through traffic. We know that where we can reduce the visibility of parked cars within the parklands, these paths will provide a much more pleasant setting for walking.

Trees play an essential role in defining the character of the Domain Parklands. They provide beauty, habitat, create landscape settings, stimulate the senses and positively influence our mental health and wellbeing. Trees are vital for cooling the city and the tree canopies and root systems reduce stormwater flows and nutrient loads that would end up in the Yarra River and our waterways.

Many trees in the Domain Parklands are reaching the later part of their life and will need replacing in the coming decades. New tree planting and planting renewal will be informed by research identifying trees which are better at coping with future climate conditions.

An arboretum is a collection of trees, cultivated for conservation, scientific, research and educational purposes.

It is proposed to further expand the city arboretum in partnership with the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Through the city arboretum, a stronger emphasis will be placed on science, research and education.

The trees will be managed at a higher level of cultivation than usual, to facilitate leading research. The learning from this will be applied to tree selection and management across the municipality.

Selection of planting locations will be guided and designed carefully to coordinate with landscape character, heritage influences, view lines and open areas to retain, and how the area is used.