Kingston's Green wedge moving towards a bright future
The Victory Road landfill has now closed, with rehabilitation works now underway to transform it into a park for the community to use.
Kingston Mayor Cr Georgina Oxley said that the Victory Road Park will become a significant regional park within and a key link in Council's long-planned Chain of Parks project.
"The Victory Road Park will cover 31ha and will be connected to the City's Sandbelt Chain of Parks project, which will provide a pathway linking parks through the Green Wedge from Karkarook Park through to Braeside Park, and include a number of open spaces," said Cr Oxley.
"The east and west sides of Victory Road have been rehabilitated and works can now begin to transform the rest of the site into usable parkland space."
Rehabilitation works are being undertaken in stages and will see the site capped with top soil, before it will be ready for grass to be planted, pathways created, and seating being introduced.
In February, Kingston Council bought two key properties in Kingston's Green Wedge to ensure they are kept for the community to enjoy for decades to come. These two properties were purchased at 52 and 60 Victory Road, Clarinda for a combined price of $2.6 million.
"These properties which total 3.02ha are in a key location neighbouring the future Victory Road Park," Cr Oxley said. "The site next door is being transformed from a waste site into a fantastic new public park, so it made sense to buy these properties to give us options for the future," said Cr Oxley.
In the lead up to the 2018 state election, the Victorian Government committed $25 million to the Sandbelt Chain of Parks project, which will provide a pathway, linking parks through the Green Wedge from Karkarook Park to Braeside Park and will include a number of open spaces.
Cr Oxley said there is a major transformation underway in the Green Wedge with Kingston finally seeing the end of the waste industry in our community, with former landfills now being turned into parklands and open space. "Council's Chain of Parks plan is now actually being implemented."
"The area was once home to over 30 active landfill sites, which are thankfully almost all gone. In recent years we're proud to have opened more than 30ha to community at Spring Road Reserve and are undertaking rehabilitation works at the former Elder Street landfill site, which will create a new 4ha open space for the community to enjoy."
