Project Update

The Wattle Glen Public Realm Framework project aims to improve the quality of the public spaces in the heart of Wattle Glen.

At the November 2021 Planning and Consultative Committee meeting the committee considered community feedback to the project’s first round of community engagement (held between July and September 2021).

The first round of engagement provided rich insight into the values of community and some of the key issues the community face. Three key themes identified from the engagement are informing the framework and are listed below:

  • Wattle Glen’s rural character and natural and environmental setting are valued as the distinctive qualities of the township
  • There is a fundamental lack of connectivity among key points within the township
  • Unsafe conditions exist for travel, especially for non-motorists, among key points within the township.


Current project progress

Appreciating that the arterial roads and railway corridor are central to the heart of Wattle Glen and implicated in the community’s values and concerns as captured in the above three themes from engagement, Council has been collaborating with the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) and VicTrack whose jurisdiction the arterial roads and railway, respectively, fall within.

It is essential, in seeking to make any improvements to the connectivity, safety and character of Wattle Glen’s public spaces for its community and visitors, that DTP and VicTrack are in support of any improvements proposed to the arterial roads and railway land. In this way, a draft public realm framework that tackles the major constraints to the liveability of Wattle Glen can be exhibited for community feedback with DTP and VicTrack support.

It is expected that collaboration with DTP and VicTrack about potential public realm aspirations for Wattle Glen may be complete by end 2023. This would enable the preparation of a draft public realm framework in early 2024 that, subject to Council confirmation, could be considered for endorsement by DTP and VicTrack and Council for exhibition later in 2024.