The Ivanhoe Water Tank Site is located near the Austin Hospital, on the corner of Bell Street and Upper Heidelberg Road. The existing water tank has not been in use since 2004.

The Site will be redeveloped by Development Victoria, the Victorian Government's property developer, to provide a residential development and a new Council park.

Council has the role of assessing and approving a concept plan for the Council park and a Development Plan for the proposed residential development.

Draft plans

View the draft plan for the Council park and the draft Development Plan (DP) for the residential development, then tell us what you think by completing the online survey or attend one of our community sessions. The draft DP for the residential development also comprises some specialist reports that are available in the Document Library.

The Council park plan has been drafted considering the feedback you provided during Stage 1 Community Engagement last year, with the inclusion of nature play elements, a large irrigated grassed area, trees, garden beds and the potential to include a rope playground and swings in the play zone.

While there were some requests for a public toilet, this will not be possible due to the park being classified as a 'Local Park'.

You can read more about findings from Stage 1 Community Engagement below.

Proposed orientation
Draft Council park plan
Park artist impression
Render of Council park & DP

Get involved

  • Survey

    Complete the survey until 10 May 2024 to tell us what you think about the draft plans.

  • Community information sessions

    Come to a community information session to learn more about the draft plans and chat with the project team.

    • Online (bookings required)
      Thursday 18 April, 6.30pm to 8pm
    • In-person
      Saturday 20 April, 10am to 12 midday
      Ivanhoe Water Tank Site,
      421 Upper Heidelberg Road, Ivanhoe
      (at the existing playground on Forster Street)
    Book here for the online session 

Stage 1 community engagement

What you told us

From 17 July to 7 August 2023 we asked the community about preferred design elements of the new playground. 150 people provided feedback through an online survey and two community pop-up sessions.

View the full consultation report or take a look below at a summary of what we heard below.

What we heard

Top 3 most requested park features

All park feature options, in the predetermined list, were appropriate for a local park.

A number of community requests have not been provided due to the limited size and slope of the park and potential adverse impacts on adjacent residential properties.

View the draft Council park key ideas.

  • 31% of participants requested a small shelter

    The park design allows for significant areas of indigenous garden bed plantings as well as substantial taller trees. This excellent canopy of trees will provide shade during the summer and help to reduce the urban heat island effect.

    Shading should also be provided in the form of an awning or portico projecting from the residential building. This is to provide weather protection and an appropriate transition between the built form and the park.

  • 17% of participants requested a half court

    There has been a focus on the central lawn as a flexible activity space that can accommodate a wide variety of activities. A half court has not been included due to potential conflicts (e.g. excessive noise) that may adversely impact adjacent residential properties (including the development).

  • 15% of participants requested irrigated open grassed area

    The design has focused on the central lawn as a permeable, green and flexible activity space that can accommodate a wide variety of activities while avoiding excessive amounts of hard pavement. The intension is to provide enough ‘flexible’ open grassed areas and to not ‘fill’ the park with too many elements.

Top voted playground style

  • 65% of participants strongly supported nature play elements

    The provision of substantial areas of garden bed allows for the integration of nature based play opportunities within the overall park design, including rock stepping stones, tree logs for climbing and planting that can provide materials for play.

Council park

About the park

Approximately 2,000 square meters of the former water tank site has been set aside for the new Council Park. Development Victoria is working with Council, Traditional Owners and the community to bring the park to life.

With the existing playground nearing the end of its life, a unique opportunity exists to design a new park which meets the community’s needs and provides ease of access and connectivity – one of Council’s key open space goals.

The current park sits between Forster Street and Upper Heidelberg Road, Ivanhoe. It contains a small playground that is well used by local families. This park is classified as a local park, as outlined in the open space classifications of our Public Open Space Plan 2016 - 2031.

Local Parks are usually small playgrounds designed to cater for residents living within 400 metres. These playgrounds include one to two items of play equipment for a limited number of age groups. Local Parks are usually only used by residents from nearby streets who would normally access the park by foot or bike.

A draft park concept plan has been developed incorporating the feedback we heard from the first round of community engagement.
Ivanhoe Water Tank site - context map
Ivanhoe Water Tank site - park network and play diversity map

The residential development

The remainder of the Ivanhoe Water Tank site will be used to deliver a residential development.

A planning provision was placed in the Banyule Planning Scheme by the State Government in 2018, which guides planning for the residential development including but not limited to:

  • building heights
  • location of the building
  • vehicle access to the site
  • provision of affordable housing.

This provision is Schedule 7 to the Development Plan Overlay (DPO7).

The DPO7 requires the approval by Council of a Development Plan (DP) for the proposed residential development. The approved DP will guide assessment for the future planning permit that will be required for the residential development.

Please note: Subject to the Development Plan Overlay, where a DP has been approved by Council, the subsequent planning permit application will be exempt from being advertised for comment.

Development Victoria (DV) has now prepared a draft DP for the residential development. As part of the assessment of this plan, it is now available for public comment.

Visit Ivanhoe - Development Victoria for a DP Summary presentation and frequently asked questions.