Council presented with preliminary design concepts for Prospect Lifestyle Precinct

Council discussed the next steps for the Prospect Lifestyle Precinct at a public workshop last night, where staff, supported by project consultants, presented indicative plans for the upgrade of Prospect Oval and its surrounds and preliminary mixed-use development design concepts for the southeast and eastern wing of the oval.

These indicative plans, which include building heights ranging from 2-3 storeys near residential streets and up to 12 storeys along Main North Road, were presented to model the financing required to deliver the Prospect Lifestyle Precinct Masterplan, endorsed earlier this year.

Mayor of City of Prospect Matt Larwood was clear about the purpose of the presentation.

“The point of these concepts was to demonstrate the financial returns needed to deliver the nearly $60m investment, which funds both the critical infrastructure upgrades for Prospect Oval and a new multi-use recreational facility to support increased sporting participation.”

“The height figures put forward are part of the initial feasibility study - they calculate the financial return required to fund the fix.”

“No final decisions regarding development have been made, and all decisions will continue to be made in public.”

The Prospect Lifestyle Precinct Masterplan is designed to future-proof Prospect Oval, one of City of Prospect’s largest community assets. This investment is driven by the need to remedy severely deteriorated infrastructure and respond to modern participation trends.

Mayor Larwood detailed the unacceptable state of the current facilities and the core problems the project aims to solve.

“The problems we want to solve are significant and impact everyone who uses the precinct, and these problems have been repeatedly brought to Council's attention by our community,” he explained.

“We’re dealing with everything from severely deteriorated clubrooms for the croquet and cricket clubs and unsuitable women's changeroom facilities, right through to the viewing mounds surrounding Prospect Oval containing contaminated soil. Large areas of the existing infrastructure also aren’t compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act”

“The ‘do nothing’ approach is simply not good enough for our community and for the people who have used this oval for generations. Prospect deserves better than that.”

With the cost of remedying these issues and establishing a multi-use recreational facility estimated to be at least $58.9 million, Mayor Larwood explained that this significant price tag is the core reason Council is pursuing mixed-use development.

“We have a clear choice, and it’s a fiscal one: either we pursue a measured mixed-use development on a small, currently underutilised portion of the site, or we’re forced to significantly burden every household in Prospect,” he stated.

“Without development revenue, the only way to fund the necessary upgrades is through increasing rates by a crippling 15–30% in addition to CPI over the next 10 years.”

“The mixed-use component is the fiscally responsible path that allows us to deliver high-quality facilities for our community without unsustainable rate increases.”

Beyond fixing infrastructure and supporting increased sporting and recreational participation for the next generation, the Prospect Lifestyle Precinct will deliver key strategic benefits, including the activation of Main North Road, creating better east-west connectivity across our city, ensuring ongoing rate revenue income, and keeping urban infill off our local heritage streets.

Council is now moving to formalise the key priorities raised during the three phases of community consultation by proposing a rigorous set of design principles for the precinct. These principles will provide Council and the community with guaranteed control over the quality and specific outcomes of any future mixed-use development.

Mayor Larwood explained that endorsing these principles is essential to ensure the community’s voice is permanently embedded.

"We’ve listened closely across all three phases of consultation, and Council’s design principles are the essential mechanism by which we guarantee the community’s voice is permanently embedded in the final precinct plan, ensuring the high-quality outcomes our community expects.”

“These principles will give Council the authority to mandate specific controls for key community concerns, including minimising the impacts of traffic and parking, increasing the amount of green space and tree canopy cover, and ensuring strict setbacks from Prospect Oval and adjoining residential properties.”

“This proactive approach ensures the project honours the character of our city, while also giving us the necessary control over development standards."

The project’s next steps will be detailed at a public Council Workshop on Monday 2 December, where Council will be presented with the results from the Phase 3 consultation and further information on a potential draft Code Amendment.

The December Council Meeting on Monday 16 December will be Council's next formal decision point, including whether to progress with the community land revocation proposal and a draft Code Amendment.

For more information about the Prospect Lifestyle Precinct, please visit Council’s Engagement Hub website here, or the Prospect Lifestyle Precinct project page here.