Now that we’ve thought about what our ‘best lives’ are, what spaces and places do we need to live them?

Buildings and facilities

Yarra Council owns and maintains more than 180 buildings and structures. This includes everything from garden sheds, toilets and gazebos through to town halls, office buildings, leisure centres and a public golf course. Many of our buildings have historical significance or have delivered community activities for decades.

We own some buildings to protect them because they are important to some people in the community, or they carry a type of historical significance.

Some buildings carry extra costs for upkeep and maintenance. Some are almost cost neutral because the services run from them generate income or they’re rented to community organisations.

As our population increases, living becomes denser and our days get hotter, easy access to green spaces will be more important.

Twenty-eight new open spaces are proposed in Yarra’s open space strategy, with a new plan in place for developers to contribute more to funding these. What other innovations or external support might support this plan? Do we have the right mix of uses of space now?

The map below shows where we have big gaps in our open space network.

What challenges do we face?

Our inner-urban location means space is at a premium and the price of property will continue to rise.

If Yarra Council was to sell assets now, it would be extremely hard (and costly) to ever get them back. The way we use our spaces may need to change over time to meet new challenges or the needs of different population groups.

Something to think about

• How do we manage our community’s assets fairly for the most benefit or best value for money?
• How do we make decisions now that are fair for future generations?
• Will our future needs mean we should reconsider how we currently use our community land and buildings?