Community connection
- Read the virtual postcards.
- Explore the community wall.
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Community map
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Check out what others have already shared below about South Yarra’s assets and strengths.
We asked:
- Where are the places and services that help to improve community life in our neighbourhood?
- Who are the people, networks and organisations who make this neighbourhood special?
- Are there events, walks or open spaces that you love?
- Is there a special tree or park that you regularly go to or a place that you love to visit and enjoy?
- You can also highlight where you see there’s an opportunity for the community and/or Council to help address.
What we know
South Yarra is located to the south of the Yarra River Birrarung and the east of St Kilda Road. South Yarra to the west of Punt Road is within the City of Melbourne and includes significant open spaces, heritage buildings, leafy residential streets, and The Alfred Hospital. To the east of Punt Road is within the City of Stonnington.
Fawkner Park is the major open space in South Yarra and includes tennis courts, grassed areas, pavilions and barbecues providing a variety of sporting and recreation opportunities for visitors and local residents.
The Domain Road shopping centre provides a mix of convenience stores, restaurants and cafes for local residents and visitors. St Kilda Road is a grand, tree lined boulevard leading into the central city.
The Domain Parklands are within South Yarra and comprise nearly 123 hectares of some of Melbourne’s most beautiful parks and gardens, including the Royal Botanic Gardens, Shrine of Remembrance, Sidney Myer Music Bowl and the Kings Domain.
Quick facts
Data is sourced from 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Census of Population and Housing, ABS Estimated Resident Population 2021, and 2020 Census of Land and Employment (CLUE).
To access more data on South Yarra, visit: South Yarra community profile on profile .id.
To learn more about the ABS Census of Population and Housing, including definitions, visit: Guide to Census data.
City of Melbourne services in South Yarra
The Fawkner Park Children’s Centre and Kindergarten is operated by a Committee of Management on behalf of the City of Melbourne. It provides a 74-place education and care centre with integrated Kindergarten.
The South
Yarra Senior Citizens Centre hosts health and wellbeing and recreational
activities for older people and their carers. It is available for community
hire through licence agreements with priority access given to groups and
not-for-profit organisations offering services and activities for older people
such as physical activity and lifelong learning.
South Yarra enjoys many parks and open spaces, which makes up over 40% of the neighbourhood. We manage and maintain many public spaces across South Yarra including: Alexandra Park, Golden Elm Reserve, King’s Domain Park, Linlithgow Memorial Reserve, Queen Victoria Gardens, River Bank Reserve, Shrine of Remembrance Reserve, Toorak and St Kilda Road Reserve.
We manage Riverslide Skate Park in the Alexandra Gardens, in partnership with YMCA. This is a staffed outdoor park delivering supervision, lessons, and events with approximately 110,000 visits annually.
We also manage Fawkner Park, which can be configured to contain approximately 12 sporting field spaces, catering for 13 community sporting clubs and seven schools across a variety of activities including cricket, softball, soccer, live action role play, rugby, touch rugby, AFL 9’s. Fawkner Park Tennis Centre is leased to Victoria Tennis Academy – a six court facility catering for a range of community tennis programs, coaching and public court access.
Edmund Herring Oval is currently not in use due to the Metro Tunnel Project.
The Boatsheds on the banks of the river are home to many clubs including Banks Rowing Club, Melbourne Grammar School Boatsheds, Melbourne Rowing Club, Richmond Rowing Club, Yarra Yarra Rowing Club, Melbourne University Boat Club and Mercantile Rowing Club.
What we heard
City of the Future consultation
We invited community members to reflect and share with us how COVID-19 changed your perspective and priorities for the future of the city. Research and knowledge gathering activities with the community took place from 15 June through to 19 July 2020.
- There is an opportunity to make lasting and impactful change, but we should act now. The city needs to adjust to major impacts and economic recovery is crucial to our city’s success.
- The creative sector’s contribution is vital to the city’s economy along with its role in creating vibrancy, social cohesion and unique experiences. It must be a focus in recovery. Opportunities were also identified to accelerate growth through innovation and emerging businesses.
- Building resilience in our community is essential given ongoing uncertainty. Accelerating action on climate change and collective global action are fundamental to economic recovery. There is a strong desire to integrate our city’s ancient and continuous Aboriginal culture and knowledge in responding to contemporary challenges.
- There is great concern about the mental health, equity and wellbeing of our community, particularly vulnerable communities. Community and experts want to see inequality, affordability and inclusion addressed. The desire for more green spaces in our city was consistently linked with health and wellbeing outcomes.
- The digital divide is an issue and we need to consider integrated digital infrastructure that would enable participation in an adaptable, digitally-inclusive and connected city.
See the ideas forum.
Seven initiatives represent our city’s plan for reactivation and recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, they connect our immediate response to the crisis with our city’s longer-term regeneration. By linking the actions that we take in the short-term with the outcomes we want to see in the future, we can ensure that we target our resources to those initiatives that best meet our long term strategic objectives and ultimately deliver maximum benefit for our city and its citizens.
Initiatives integral to immediate recovery
- Prioritise public health and wellbeing
- Reactivate the city
Initiatives integral to our city’s successful regeneration and ongoing resilience
- Build economic resilience
- Expand equitable opportunity and access
- Transform our spaces and buildings
- Strengthen community participation and align to others
- Evaluate and progress
Read the full consultation recap.
The COVID-19 Reactivation and Recovery Plan integrates with the Council planning framework and City of Melbourne’s strategic plans and is designed to help guide and shape our work now and into the future.
Read the COVID-19 Reactivation and Recovery Plan.
Community Vision consultation
To help form our 10-year Community Vision and four-year Council Plan 2021–25, we completed a period of deliberative engagement with a broad cross-section of the community throughout March 2021.
We spoke with more than 750 people who live, work, study, visit or own a business in the municipality to understand what our community values most about the city.
Overall, the community’s top aspirations were for Melbourne to be a city that:
- is healthy and safe
- considers climate change in everything that we do
- is inclusive, accessible and affordable.
Read the full consultation recap.
The community’s feedback was gathered and synthesised into a series of insights and aspirations that helped to create the 10-year Community Vision and four-year Council Plan.
Read the Consultation Report (PDF 1.06MB).
Six strategic directions from the Council Plan include:
- Economy of the future
- Melbourne's unique identity and place
- Safety and wellbeing
- Access and affordability
- Climate and biodiversity emergency
- Aboriginal Melbourne
What we're doing
Capital works
New infrastructure investments in South Yarra this year include:
- $5,000,000 – St Kilda Road – Metro Bike Lane
- $350,000 – Riverslide Skate Park Redevelopment
- $20,000 – Reduce speed limits
- $10,000 – Wayfinding Signage Program – Extending signs to priority areas
We will invest $2,233,750 on renewal works in South Yarra including for roadways, flood mitigation, drains median and tree plot renewals and property.
We will invest $120,692 on maintenance works in South Yarra including at our propriety, on pedestrian infrastructure, wayfinding signage and for urban forest health.
Key Initiatives
This year we will:
- Progress the South Yarra heritage review and associated Amendments to protect and celebrate heritage places and neighbourhood character.
Strategic work in the CBD
We will progress delivery of:
- Domain Parklands Master Plan
- Fawkner Park Master Plan
- South Yarra Urban Forest Precinct Plan.
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