Seeking Design Ideas for Drouin Civic Park Play Space

Published on 09 May 2018

Baw Baw Shire Council is inviting the community to share their ideas and vision for an upgraded play space in Drouin’s Civic Park.

A play space upgrade has been identified as one of the key projects to be delivered in the Drouin Civic Park 10-year master plan adopted by Council in April 2017.

Mayor of Baw Baw Shire Councillor Joe Gauci said this first phase of ‘Have Your Say’ consultation is all about asking the community what makes a great play space.

“In order for us to get a detailed design together, we need to start at square one and come up with some ideas”, said the Mayor.

“We’re keen to hear from park users and the wider community about what themes and elements of play equipment they want to see included. If you have seen an interesting play space somewhere else, we’d love for you to share this with us.”

“Drouin’s Civic Park is set amongst some of Baw Baw’s famous rolling green hills and big leafy trees. How great would it be to design a play space that encourages and excites kids to get outdoors and play in nature. That’s what we want to achieve.”

West Ward Councillor Jessica O’Donnell said Council will be engaging directly with local schools, disability service providers and the indigenous community to get their valuable insights and ideas.

“We’ll be approaching key community groups to make sure everyone has a chance to be involved in the project. No one knows what makes great play spaces better than kids, so it’s important we include them in the design process too”, said Cr O’Donnell.

Central Ward Councillor Mikaela Power, a representative on Council’s Disability Advisory Committee, said accessibility will be at the forefront of the design process.

“Similar to what was achieved with the upgrade at Warragul’s Civic Park, our goal is to create play spaces where children of different ages and abilities can play and have fun in a safe and inclusive environment”, said Cr Power.

A community information session will be held from 8.30am to 12.30pm on Saturday 19 May at Drouin Civic Park.

All community members interested in the project are encouraged to attend and find out more information, ask questions, and provide feedback and ideas.

Feedback submissions for this initial round of consultation are open until 5.00pm on Friday 1 June via a simple online survey, in writing or in person, with more details available at www.bawbawshire.vic.gov.au/HaveYourSay

Once all feedback has been received, a draft design will be developed, which will again be released for community input and further consultation later in the year.

Image: The existing play space at Drouin’s Civic Park.

Image: Drouin local Dustin Bills playing at Civic Park.