Yarra City Council votes to convert sections of Budd Street and Mater Street in Collingwood into new public green space for Melbourne residents
Yarra City Council has voted to remove sections of two Melbourne streets from its Register of Public Roads and convert the land into pocket parks, in a bid to address one of the most severe open space shortages in the municipality.
The decision targets parts of Budd Street and Mater Street, two underused road reserves that will be transformed into new public parkland for Melbourne locals in one of the city’s densest suburbs. Council has also purchased a 290-square-metre parcel of land on the corner of Wellington and Mater streets from the Salvation Army for $1.5 million, which will be incorporated into the Mater Street park.
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Why Collingwood is a priority for new Melbourne green space
Collingwood has the least amount of open space of any suburb in the City of Yarra. The suburb’s industrial past left behind vast stretches of concrete and very little greenery, and with a population density exceeding 7,000 people per square kilometre, the pressure on existing parks is significant. Council’s own open space strategy identifies the area as severely lacking in outdoor space for residents to rest, gather or simply sit in the sun.
Yarra City Council Mayor Stephen Jolly said the suburb’s limited green space made the decision straightforward. “Collingwood doesn’t have a lot of open space, with only a small proportion of the suburb dedicated to parks and reserves. With the forecast population growth, we have to make the most of any opportunity to improve this.”
Road-to-park conversions gaining momentum across Yarra
This isn’t the first time the council has ripped up a road to plant trees. Yarra opened the Otter Street pocket park in Collingwood in early 2024, converting a discontinued road into green space with $1.19 million in Victorian government funding. The Cambridge Street Reserve was also expanded into the largest park in Collingwood through a similar road reallocation process.
Community feedback during the consultation period backed both new proposals heavily. Residents cited the need for more shade, improved urban cooling and better liveability in a suburb where green space is at a premium. Submissions also pointed to the environmental benefits of increased tree canopy and climate resilience.
What the new Collingwood pocket parks will include
While final designs are still being developed, indicative concept plans show the parks will feature new planting, trees, seating and areas for rest and community use. The Mater Street project in particular will benefit from the additional land acquired from the Salvation Army, giving council a more substantial site to work with than the road reserve alone would allow.
For a suburb where every square metre of public land is doing overtime, even modest patches of new green space represent a meaningful shift in how Collingwood functions day to day.
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