What next for the Ivanhoe Sports Precinct?

The Ivanhoe Sports Precinct Masterplan - Implementation Plan was adopted by Council on 20 March 2023.

Watch a recording of the Council Meeting or view the Council minutes and report here.

Council will continue to advocate for funding to deliver this Masterplan.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the engagement activities and who provided feedback. Sporting Clubs and community members who use the area for walking, riding, dog walking and planned sports were the main participants.

Consultation findings collected and heard during engagement activities were used to develop the final Plan.

What you told us:

Given the mixed feedback and strong support to accommodate both bowls and netball, it was requested that Council investigate keeping the East Ivanhoe Bowls Club (EIBC) green and include netball courts at Ivanhoe Park.

The result of this investigation provides a revised option to retain the EIBC green as well as provide two netball courts at Ivanhoe Park, as was originally proposed in draft Option One. The revised option still retains the other key components of the option that shared with community during consultation. The major change is the retention of the bowls green and provision of two netball courts, not three.

View the full consultation report here.

Next Steps

Staging priorities and high-level costings for each component in the adopted Masterplan will be developed and presented back to Council as an implementation plan by December 2022.

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Background

Ivanhoe Park, Chelsworth Park and Ivanhoe Recreation Reserve (John Street) form a significant sporting precinct that is home to 14 clubs with over 2000 registered members and a student population. It is also a favorite recreation destination for the community enjoying the natural environment and amenity.

In 2018 Council funded the development of the Ivanhoe Sports Precinct Plan response to several separate budget submissions from clubs requesting improvements to: ageing facilities, improving access, increasing standards and the opportunity to explore mergers and accommodate increased participation.

About the project

The Ivanhoe Sports Precinct Masterplan will guide sports and recreation facility development, unstructured use for play, events and passive recreation by providing a schedule of works and priorities over the next 10 years.

A draft Ivanhoe Sports Precinct Plan Issues and Option Summary Report presented option one as the preferred, for community consultation in 2021.

Option one delivers:

John Street:

  • Consolidation of bowls.
  • Retention of the newly surfaced tennis courts and inclusion of a hot shot or pickleball court.
  • Redevelopment of an accessible club rooms to create an integrated bowls/tennis facility.

Ivanhoe Park:

  • Maintenance of the existing bowling club pavilion for potential broader community use.
  • Development of three (3) netball courts on the site of the bowling green.
  • Improvements to the sporting fields and practice cricket wickets.
  • Extension of the croquet playing surface, to support hosting of regional events.
  • Redevelopment and improvement to create a connected walking track.
  • Demolition of the two tennis courts.
  • Removal of the bowling club care takers residence.
  • Improved and diverse open space and support amenities in line with the objectives of the Banyule Public Open Space Plan 2016-2031.

Chelsworth Park:

  • Upgrade to sport pavilion facilities.
  • Improved traffic management.
  • Redevelopment of a connected walking track.
  • Improved lighting to the sports fields.
  • Improvement to the tennis courts.

As a result of feedback from stakeholder groups and the community, this option was revised and endorsed by Council in July 2022 with the following changes:

  • Retaining of the East Ivanhoe Bowling greens and synthetic lanes at Ivanhoe Park
  • Construction of two outdoor netball courts with storage and amenities at the current site of two tennis courts at Ivanhoe Park
  • Replacement of existing lighting on Southern oval at Chelsworth Park to LED and removal of lighting proposed for Northern oval.
  • What we have done

    Consultation

    Stage 2

    Consultation is now complete. We have undertaken the following consultation with the community and other stakeholders to guide further development of Ivanhoe Sports Precinct Plan, including:

    • Two pop up consultation sessions (Ivanhoe Park and Chelsworth Park)
    • Online community survey on Shaping Banyule
    • Key stakeholder online interviews with 15 tenant and stakeholder clubs
    • Written and email submissions

    A consultation summary report was presented to Council with recommendations to resolve the plan at the Council Meeting on 18 July, 2022.

    You can view a recording of the Council meeting here or view the Council report and minutes here.

    Stage 1

    Consultation is now complete. We have undertaken the following consultation with the community and other stakeholders to guide the development of Ivanhoe Sports Precinct Plan , including:

    • talking to local sporting clubs to determine needs and aspirations.
    • meeting with relevant state sporting associations to determine current and future needs and participation growth trends.
    • undertaking a survey of residents surrounding the three sites on the current amenities and areas for improvements; and
    • working with a Community Reference Group.

    View the draft Ivanhoe Sports Precinct Plan: Issues and Options Summary Report for outcomes of this consultation along with details of site analysis, constraints and opportunities.

    Objectives and key drivers

    Objectives

    The objectives for the Ivanhoe Sports Precinct Plan are to:

    1. Respond to changing participation trends, community needs and demands.
    2. Consolidate assets for more efficient and cost-effective asset management.
    3. Have facilities that are fit for purpose and meet contemporary compliance guidelines.
    4. Maximise open space.
    5. Improve facilities while maintaining local amenity.
    6. Provide for a variety of open space uses.
    7. Improve community wellbeing and encourage healthy active lifestyles.

    Key drivers

    Five factors that influence development of the precinct are:

    • The need to rationalise existing infrastructure and facilities and create stronger linkages between sports within the precinct.
    • The age of the unstructured amenities that require upgrade.
    • Changing sport participation demands.
    • Facilities which don’t meet current industry standards.
    • Community advocacy for outdoor netball facilities to meet club growth and local training needs.

    FAQs