We are undertaking community engagement to understand community views on the potential use of 7 Well Street for public open space.

Council purchased and demolished the residence at 7 Well Street to expand the existing car park at 5 Wells Street and provide an increase of 19 parking spots for the area*.

The residence at 7 Well Street was purchased by Council in 2005, with the specific intention to construct additional car parking in the Church Street activity centre.

Parking improvements had been identified as a high priority in the 2018 Bayside Transport Strategy. The car park extension was intended to help improve parking accessibility to Church Street.

In order to facilitate this, Council was required to rezone the land before it could build a new car park. Council commenced a planning scheme amendment in 2019 to rezone the site to the Public Use Zone.

The Minister for Planning did not support the amendment as it lacked strategic justification - no Council policy or strategy document supported the site being transitioned to a car park.

At the March 2021 Council meeting, a report was presented to enable Council to continue undertaking the strategic work necessary to support a car park at this location

Councillors deemed that further work was needed to understand community views on how this site could be best utilised. Council resolved to investigate alternative land use opportunities at the site as part of a community engagement process.

Community feedback will focus on ideas for a possible solution that best improves community use of the space. Due to its size (700 sqm) the scope for improvement is limited.

As part of this process, Council will also complete a study on the opportunities and constraints at the site for public open space. This study will consider relevant Council strategic directions including:

• Bayside 2050 Community Vision
• Climate Emergency Action Plan
• Open Space Strategy 2012
• Biodiversity Action Plan 2018

1.1 We want a Bayside where infrastructure is fit for purpose for today and into the future

1.2 We want a Bayside where infrastructure is innovative, environmentally sustainable, and reflects the local character of the area

1.3 We want a Bayside where infrastructure is safe, accessible, adaptable and is highly utilised, providing high levels of value

2.2 Engage with our diverse communities to improve access and inclusion in Bayside

3.2 Infrastructure and assets are sustainable, accessible and fit-for-purpose now and for the future.

2.2 Have an active strategy to acquire more open space, reclaim space and purchase land where required. Encourage micro-parks, pocket parks and community garden projects.

2.3 Ensure that open space and community infrastructure on that land has the potential for multi-purpose use.

2.4 Design public open space so that it reflects careful consideration of the environmental, cultural and heritage value of Bayside.

The suitability of 7 Well Street as potential open space will be considered as part of the broader consideration of open space opportunities in the Church Street activity centre.

As part of this process, we have developed a tool that Council can use to assess and score the suitability of sites owned by Council that could potentially become public open space.

The tool provides a quantitative means of evaluating a site’s suitability for open space and provides a good indicator of “optimum value” in open space expenditure, scoring each site against a range of best practice public open space principles.

These principles being:

• Safe and Accessible: close to public transport, at ground level with disabled access, has visual surveillance and high pedestrian activity

• Adaptable: unencumbered, size meets community needs, accommodates several activities, has access to sunlight

• Connected: has appropriate street frontages, forms new or existing pedestrian or cycle path connections

• Cultural and Social: suits community need, adjoins local points of interest and a mixture of land uses

• Sustainable: contains or is capable of containing canopy trees, forms a habitat link and contributes to biodiversity

• Achievable: ease of acquisition or conversion of land for open space purposes. The tool is proposed to be used to assist Council in determining the suitability of sites for public open space and can support Council’s decision making in relation to funding priorities.

The assessment of 7 Well Street will be undertaken along with other identified sites in the Church Street activity centre.

This approach will ensure a comparison of the various sites is provided to Council to ensure we identify the most suitable site for open space.

• We want to generate ideas from the community of how we can improve the site at 7 Well Street for community use.
• To understand the level of community support for transforming the site to a pocket park or additional car parking or other community use.

Ideas for the future use of the 7 Well Street site for community benefit

• Due to size of site, it would only qualify for a pocket or local park – therefore supporting infrastructure will be delivered in line with the criteria defined in the Open Space Strategy
• Constraints of the site including size, accessibility and configuration
• Existing policy framework for Major Activity Centres

This stakeholder assessment is a generalised understanding of sections of the community that have a connection to the project or matter. This information is used to understand the types of tools and techniques that will achieve the strongest and most effective outcomes for engagement and communication.

Impact: What level of change will the stakeholder / community segment experience as a result of the project/matter

Interest: What level of interest has been expressed or is anticipated

Influence: Reference to the IAP2 Spectrum.

The tools and techniques selected for this project are informed by the project content, stakeholders and type of feedback sought.

The impact of COVID-19 restricts our ability for face-to-face communication, as well as slower distribution of printed mail.

• direct email to Have Your Say subscribers and key stakeholder groups
• flyers to nearby residents
• website news stories and This Week in Bayside e-newsletter
• advertising, including prominent signage and social media
• Let’s Talk Bayside magazine.
• Signage installed within the Church Street shopping precinct

• Direct liaison with Bayside Health Ageing Reference Group, Disability Access and Inclusion Advisory Committee and Youth Ambassadors Committee.
• Social media, especially 'sponsored' posts to increase audience reach

• Online engagement through Have Your Say, including opportunity to ask questions

• bookable meetings with key stakeholder groups
• surveys in accessible formats available on request.

The preferred future use of 7 Well Street will be informed by:

• Suitability for open space assessment against the six principles
• Community and stakeholder feedback

Related Policies and Plans including:

• Bayside Planning Scheme

• Bayside Council Plan 2021 - 2025
• Lease and Licence Policy Property Strategy
• Church Street Structure Plan 2006
• Integrated Transport Strategy 2018
• Bayside Community Vision 2050
• Open Space Strategy 2012

It is expected that Council will consider the results of the community engagement and a report at its meeting on 21 December 2021 to determine the suitability of the site. This meeting will be live-streamed via Council’s website. Community members can also ask a question or request to be heard at this meeting.

**This page was updated on 20 December 2028 to clarify that an expansion of the 5 Well Street car park would result in a net increase of 19 car parking spaces, rather than the 28 referred to in the Engagement Plan."