Whitehorse City Council adopts Open Space Strategy 2025

Whitehorse City Council has adopted the Whitehorse Open Space Strategy 2025 providing a clear framework for delivering a well-connected, high-quality, and sustainable open space network that supports community health, wellbeing, and biodiversity.

The strategy sets a future-focused direction for how open space will be planned, protected, and enhanced across the municipality over the next 15 years.

Council is located about 15 kilometres east of the Melbourne CBD covering an area of 64 square kilometres and including suburbs like Blackburn, Box Hill, Burwood, and Forest Hill.

The strategy represents a generational opportunity to plan for a healthier, more connected, and more resilient city. It ensures that, as Whitehorse grows and changes, open space remains a core part of what makes the city liveable.

Responding to Growth and Change
Replacing the 2007 Open Space Strategy, this latest strategy responds to the significant challenges of population growth, housing intensification, climate change, and evolving community expectations.

As development accelerates, particularly in key areas like Box Hill, and private open space becomes more limited, Council is taking steps to ensure that residents continue to have access to public open spaces for recreation, connection, and relaxation.

The Strategy identifies opportunities to acquire new open space, upgrade existing parks and reserves, and improve accessibility and connectivity for people of all ages and abilities. It also addresses environmental priorities including urban cooling, habitat protection, and sustainable water use.

Informed by Community 
The Strategy is built on extensive community input. More than 2,900 community members participated in two rounds of consultation between 2022 and 2024, offering strong support for priorities such as:

• Creating new public open space

• Protecting trees and biodiversity

• Making parks more inclusive and accessible

• Enhancing local play, sport, and social recreation opportunities.

In response to feedback, key changes were made in the final Strategy, including protecting valued local reserves, clarifying actions in under-served areas, and strengthening commitments to inclusive and environmentally sensitive design.

Next Steps
Council will now begin the next phase, preparing a five-year implementation plan which will include initiating a planning scheme amendment to introduce the updated public open space contribution rates.

The final adopted Whitehorse Open Space Strategy and consultation summaries will be available in the coming weeks. To read more about the process visit yoursay.whitehorse.vic.gov.au/open-space-strategy