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Community’s feedback sought on plans to revitalise Sale Botanic GardensWellington Shire Council’s draft masterplan to revitalise the historically significant Sale Botanic Gardens is now on display at various locations in the city for viewing and comment. By Wellington Shire Council - 1st August 2003 - Back to News The Council is keen to maximise the Gardens’ potential as a major heritage and environmental asset for the local community, and as a tourist attraction for the area.
Dating back to at least 1860, these Botanic Gardens bordering Lake Guthridge are amongst the oldest in the State and are the only ones to be found east of Melbourne. Originally covering some 20 hectares, they now span approximately 3.5 hectares, having experienced various encroachments over the decades.
The masterplan for revamping the site takes on board the findings of a detailed conservation study and an extensive survey of visitors to the Gardens earlier in the year, and is on display at Sale Library, at the Council’s Civic Centre in Foster Street and at the Sensory Gardens which now occupy part of the location. Drawn up with help from local landscape designers and a team of specialist architects from Melbourne, it contains a number of proposals designed to recreate some of the Gardens’ original magnificence and to encourage greater use of the facility by the community and tourists as a place to relax and unwind. These include:
- planting trees to mark important historic events from the 1860’s through to the present day;
- installing a new path network that provides easier access for able-bodied and disabled visitors to the site;
- creating a number of ‘outdoor’ rooms, with hedging plants used to separate the Botanic Gardens from the fauna park and playground;
- closing Macintosh Drive up to the pool boundary to create a more pedestrian-friendly lake walk;
- reducing the size of the fauna park and carrying out an extensive rejuvenation of the remaining space using indigenous plants to create a more natural habitat for animals;
- making extensive use of interpretative and directional signage to create a more user-friendly and informative experience of the Gardens.
The plan will be on display until Monday 11 August. Written comments and enquiries should be directed to the Council’s Manager Open Space, Tim Rowe at Wellington Shire Council, PO Box 506, SALE, VIC 3850. He can be contacted also on 5142 3459.
The final version of the masterplan, taking on board the community’s feedback to the draft, is due to go before the Council for adoption in September. Phased on-site work to revamp the Gardens is set to begin in October and, subject to funding, will be ongoing over a five-year period.
Wellington is also looking to the State Government to include the Gardens on the Victorian Heritage List, which would help safeguard their long term future and protect them from any inappropriate development.
Said Wellington’s Mayor John Jago: "The Sale Botanic Gardens are a very important part of our local history and heritage, but have remained somewhat under-used for a long time. Now we have the ideal opportunity to rejuvenate the site and transform it into a relaxing haven for the community of Sale and a significant tourist attraction which will help showcase the city and the Shire to the region and further afield.
"We would encourage anyone with an interest in the Gardens to go and see the draft masterplan and give us their views, so we can ensure that we are progressing in the best way with this rejuvenation."
Source: www.gippsland.com Published by: news@gippsland.com
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