At Moncrieff, land allocated for housing became a community recreation park. The ACT Government’s decision gave the neighbourhood room for ball courts, play areas, exercise and family gatherings.

The first site was too small. Moncrieff needed a park with space for sport, play and recreation across different ages, and the proposed facilities would not fit.

The Suburban Land Agency supported a change to the plan: land allocated for multi-unit housing was rezoned as open space. That gave Moncrieff Community Recreation Park the room it needed.

It was a significant choice for a growing suburb. Courts, lawns and places to gather take up land, and providing them means allocating that land early. At Moncrieff, the client was prepared to revise the layout to accommodate them.

Room for the whole family

The Suburban Land Agency and Sport and Recreation Services wanted facilities for different ages in the same park. A child learning to ride needs a different space from a teenager playing basketball. Parents supervising younger children need somewhere to sit, and families staying for the afternoon need shade and amenities.

The completed park combines climbing equipment, ball courts, fitness facilities and a learn-to-ride circuit with open grass, shaded seating, barbecues and public restrooms. People can come for a particular activity and have somewhere to rest or spend time together afterwards.

The position of the park was equally important. It follows Moncrieff’s open-space ridgeline, connecting south through the suburb and north towards Taylor. Its location ties the recreation facilities into the surrounding network of public open space.

Redbox Design Group proposed the park during planning for Moncrieff East and led the landscape design and coordination of the design team. The Suburban Land Agency’s support for the site changes enabled the proposed facilities to be accommodated.

Working with the hill

Steep ground and rock made the site difficult to build on. The design uses terraces and retaining walls to create flatter areas for sport, with mounds and changes in height incorporated into the play spaces. Paths connect the different levels.

The rocky soil also needed attention. Planting areas were designed with improved growing conditions and passive watering, while topsoil was sieved, improved and reused in dryland grass areas.

Colour and pattern connect the park with the suburb’s name. Singer Gladys Moncrieff inspired musical themes in the furniture, paving and structures. Artist Rosalie Gascoigne’s work influenced the repeated vertical forms and bold colours seen in the play elements, wall art and table-tennis tables.

A decision made early enough to count

Completed in 2017, Moncrieff Community Recreation Park received a 2018 AILA ACT Landscape Architecture Award in the Play Space category.

The project shows why the size and location of public open space need to be considered early in a suburb’s development. A small site would have forced choices about which facilities to leave out. The Suburban Land Agency increased the space available, allowing the park to accommodate the mix of activities planned for it.

For residents, that decision is visible in the finished place: a court for a game, a circuit for learning to ride, and enough lawn to kick a ball without booking a session or joining a club.