Thank you for your patience while we put the finishing touches on your new Town Square.

 We wanted to give you a quick update on the Town Square project and let you know of some urgent works to remove two potentially unsafe trees on Monday, 8 September. 

We expect the new playground near the library to open in October, and we just planted almost 100 new trees and shrubs (details below) with more to come. The car park between Rex Paine and the library is opening, paths will be finished in September, and the foundations are being prepared for the toilet block.

You might see our arborists onsite on Monday 8 September removing two trees due to very recent safety concerns. They're opposite the Watsonia Road BP - and we'll need to briefly close six parking spaces while we do this work.

Banyule’s trees are a valued public asset and we don’t take this decision lightly.

Unfortunately, last week our arborists found the deep roots of one tree were unexpectedly too close to the new toilet block for it to survive. There isn’t enough room to relocate the building, and a public toilet is a necessary public asset for this area. Arborists identified that structural rot in another nearby tree (a southern mahogany) is too advanced despite our earlier preventative measures, and it is at risk of dropping limbs.

What’s on in the Town Square?

Come and enjoy some upcoming events hosted by the Watsonia Traders Association:

• Friday 31 October, 3pm to 7pm - Halloween fun for the kids

• Saturday 29 November, 10am – 2pm - Wellness sessions including meditation and music

• Saturday 20 December, 10am – 2pm - Merry Christmas! Enjoy a carols sing-a-long, live music and facepainting,

New trees and plants

We’ve planted almost 100 new trees and shrubs and there’s more to come. The beautiful mix of Australian species includes blackwood wattles (Acacia melanoxylon), crepe myrtles (Lagerstroemia Natchez) and bottlebrush (Callistemon Slim). We’ve selected plants that suit the local environment and will grow less than 3 metres high under the power lines.

During this project we have removed 9 mature trees, but we are working hard to make the site greener than it was before.

Parking and pedestrians

Paths between the new carpark and the library will be finished soon. Paths between the library and train station will be completed in October during North East Link works. Click here for details of North East Link works and disruptions.

Morwell Avenue section

The nature play and skateable areas, footpaths, seating and grassed area, climbing wall and shared user path are completed and proving very popular.

The Town Square is on track to be completed this summer. As with all major construction projects there will likely be some small details (like the final landscaping touches) remaining at the end of the project.