By Callum Ludwig
The Eastern Region Group of Council’s first Melbourne East Regional Sport and Recreation Strategy (MERSRS) was established in 2016 and has helped deliver a number of sport and recreation projects and initiatives for the Yarra Ranges.
A recent update to the strategy has been undertaken to ensure it continues to reflect the sport and recreation needs of the local area and was endorsed at the Tuesday 23 May Yarra Ranges Council meeting.
Deputy Mayor and Melba Ward Councillor Sophie Todorov moved the motion and said the strategy has done a really good job through its four strategic priorities.
“The first one is a balanced network of facilities, on a regional, eastern regional scale, we need to really carefully plan and advocate for investment in our region in our infrastructure,” she said.
“The next pillar is knowing and understanding this region, the odds play, analysis, priorities and data, which provides quite an insightful view on what the needs are of our community,”
“A really important piece also being inclusion and diversity and most importantly, the other area was in relation to collaboration, between not only Council but other stakeholders partnerships, including the Department of Education and land managers.”
The 2016 MERSRS was previously influential in the development of the AFL Centre of Excellence at the Kilsyth Recreation Reserve and the Eastern Region Trails Strategy and the planning and development of the Warburton Mountain Bike Destination (WMBD).
Ryrie Ward Councillor Fiona McAllister seconded the motion and said it is a great approach for regional planning for sports communities, not divided along council boundaries.
“It really is about, ‘What is the highest need, what’s the best place to put it, and how do we get the best return on investment without infrastructure,” she said.
“We’re not duplicating, we’re not creating parochial infrastructure all over the place and we end up with great outcomes for the community.”
The review of the MERSRS has identified the delivery of the WMBD, a potential Urban Aquatics Facility, advocating for a privately-owned Yarra Ranges Regional Equestrian Park and a multi-purpose regional sports precinct which will cater to multiple sports including cycling.
