Women’s and girls’ sport is set for a boost in Wonga Park with the local netball facility to undergo a major redevelopment.

We have secured a $1.47 million grant to upgrade the Wonga Park Netball Facility through the Australian Government’s Play Our Way program.

This funding is in addition to $450,000 allocated in Council’s 2024/25 capital works budget to deliver a new pavilion, lighting and to reconstruct the netball courts.

Our Mayor, Councillor Deirdre Diamante, welcomed the funding announcement, describing it as a huge win for women and girls’ sport and the Wonga Park community.

“We’d like to thank the Australian Government for their support in providing quality facilities for women and girls in Manningham that help reduce barriers and increase participation in sport and physical activity,” Cr Diamante said.

“Advocating for more inclusive and equal community facilities is a key part of Council's role and we’re thrilled that we’ve been able to achieve this significant win in collaboration with Wonga Park Netball Club.

“This is going to make a huge difference to the club and players – providing toilets, change facilities and storage at the courts. New lighting will also allow the club to train in the evenings,” the Mayor added.

Wonga Park Netball Club spokesperson, Jeanette Morriss, said the funding announcement was a fantastic early Christmas present for the club.

“We are just so excited. It’s going to be amazing for women and girls in sport and will create a much safer and inclusive space for our 150 players,” Ms Morriss said.

“We would like to thank the Federal Government for the funding and the work Councillors and Council staff have done in advocating on our behalf,” she said.

UPDATED: 7 March 2025 with map of proposed works.

Connecting our community through safe footpaths is one of the ways we’re building a better Manningham.

What is happening?

We’re proposing to build a concrete footpath on Paynters Road in Wonga Park, from Dudley Road to Homestead Road. These works aim to improve accessibility and provide a safe, all-weather connection for pedestrians in Wonga Park.

The project would include:

• construction of a concrete footpath
• drainage enhancements, where required.
   

Where is it?

The proposed footpath would be on: 

• the northern side of Paynters Road, from Dudley Road to Homestead Road
• the western side of Reserve Road, from Paynters Road to Penderel Court.

Why is it needed?

This footpath would connect the existing footpaths on Dudley Road and Homestead Road, improving connectivity, safety, and accessibility for pedestrians in Wonga Park.
 

When is it happening?

We plan to design this project within our 2024/25 Capital Works Program.
  

There’s a new place to play in Bulleen! Manningham’s newest sporting and recreation facility, Powerful Owl Park, is now open for enthusiastic local soccer players and community.

It features:

• three soccer fields (two natural turf and one synthetic pitch) 
• a sports pavilion with tiered seating and player change rooms, umpire and first aid amenities 
• 176 car park spaces
• a nature play area; and, 
• walking and cycling connections to the Yarra River. 

The new facility adds to our thriving network of local places where people of all ages, genders and skill levels can participate in soccer and other activities.

Participation in sports is important for a healthy, vibrant and connected community. For young people, it can provide the opportunity to develop valuable lifelong skills like resilience, teamwork, leadership and communication. Adults often find camaraderie and exercise through sport. 

We negotiated a commitment from State Government to deliver this facility in response to the North East Link Program’s impact to our community facilities at Bulleen Park.

The project was delivered by the Victorian Government’s Project Delivery Agency, Development Victoria, with construction contractor 2Construct. Our Recreation and Leisure team will manage usage of the new facilities. 

Powerful Owl Park is located at 27-59 Templestowe Road in Bulleen. 

For North East Link construction information and updates, call 1800 105 105 or visit the Big Build website.

North East Link Project (NELP) has released designs for the redevelopment of the Doncaster Park and Ride, which you can now provide feedback on and have your say. 

The designs are within a draft Urban Design and Landscape Plan (UDLP), which shows that the Doncaster Park and Ride will connect to a new dedicated busway along the Eastern Freeway, known as the Eastern Busway. 

The plan is to construct the facility into a modern version of its existing state (like-for-like), resulting in the Park and Ride being retained as a car park and bus interchange only, with a similar number of car parking spaces. The draft UDLP is currently on exhibition for public comment.

Council will be providing a submission in response to the UDLP to propose that the current plan is a missed opportunity to reconstruct the Doncaster Park and Ride as a mixed-use Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). 

While the facility being redeveloped into a modern interchange is positive, this is a key opportunity for TOD, which could provide wide-ranging benefits to the community, environment and local economy.

We will be advocating that there is a growing demand for park and ride facilities due to population growth and the lack of any rail infrastructure in Manningham. This is shown through the high-usage of the newly opened Bulleen Park and Ride which consistently operates at capacity, and reinforces the significant opportunity this Doncaster Park and Ride site offers for our community.

As such, our submission seeks to include a multi-level car park with increased capacity, new open spaces areas, as well as retail and other commercial opportunities. This is in-line with our commissioned 2022 site design concept which was endorsed on 26 July 2022 as Council’s preferred redevelopment outcome for the Doncaster Park and Ride site.

We ask you to join us in advocating that Doncaster Park and Ride be reconstructed to include: 

• mixed-use transit-oriented development
• increase in carpark spaces, or
• flexibility to address population growth and allow for mixed-use development in future. 

Have your say

Help shape the Doncaster Park and Ride. You can provide feedback while the UDLP is on exhibition until 5.00pm Tuesday 24 September 2024.

To find out more, or to make a submission, head to Engage Victoria.

What’s next?

Council will be considering its submission on the Doncaster Park and Ride UDLP at its meeting on Tuesday 16 September. Following this, the submission will be lodged on behalf of Council to Engage Victoria. 

NELP will consider all written comments and submissions received, before the final UDLP is submitted to the Minister for Planning for consideration.

You can read more on the Big Build website and sign up to receive email updates.