A floating swimming pool, a tea rooms, shared walking and cycling paths, and wetlands and playgrounds form part of a $21.7 million council strategy to revamp the edge of the Maribyrnong River at Footscray.
The Footscray River Edge Masterplan was expected to be endorsed by Maribyrnong council. It outlines improvements for a two-kilometre stretch of the river from Ballarat Road south to Lyons Street.
The plan will significantly upgrade and help redefine Footscray, focusing on the Newells Paddock wetland and waterfront around the Community Arts Centre.
Projects will include a playground, skate park, a 500-metre timber wharf along the river’s edge and a promenade along the old railway line, a floating swimming pool near the Footscray Community Arts Centre, and historic railway carriages redeveloped as cafes and kiosks.
Open spaces will be created for festivals and events, with more areas for public artworks, picnic tables, barbecues and extra seating.
The council has allocated $400,000 in its 2014-15 budget to start the works.
The council received 17 submissions on the draft masterplan, released in May, from organisations including Footscray Riverside Action Group, Friends of Newells Paddock, Melbourne Water and the National Trust.
A report attached to the masterplan detailed the untapped potential of the river’s edge.
“The river was central to Footscray’s industry, its civic identity and its public life,” it states.
“In recent decades, the industries that flourished and brought activity to the river have one-by-one closed or relocated elsewhere [and] what was once a vibrant working waterfront has become quiet and disconnected from the city.
“The masterplan outlines the proposed key moves for reconnecting the community of the inner west with the river.
“It identifies opportunities to create a vibrant river edge that attracts and engages with the community of the inner west.
“The waterfront’s key areas – Newells Paddock, the Joseph Road Precinct, the river’s edge between Hopkins Street to Footscray Road and Lyons Street – each possess different qualities and opportunities which contribute to the masterplan vision.”
Key changes to the draft masterplan include greater emphasis on the river’s historical character, more user and visitor facilities, enhanced access to the waterfront and more “greening” of the river’s edge.
The council’s open space strategy has identified the need for improved open space along the waterfront.
