Council secures $14 million for Chelsworth Park

Published on 24 May 2024

Chelsworth Park will get 2 new public pavilions at a cost of $14 million in a lease agreement between Banyule Council and Ivanhoe Grammar School.

The school will pay for the construction of the pavilions as part of the terms of a 40-year lease to use Chelsworth Park sporting facilities for approximately 7% of daylight hours. The new lease replaces the school’s existing 30-year lease that is 10 years into its term, in an agreement that will benefit other sports groups and the wider community.

The pavilions will be used by the 9 other community sports clubs that share use of Chelsworth Club and the park will remain open to the public for walking, running, dog walking, casual sports and socialising.

Banyule Mayor Cr Tom Melican welcomed the new agreement, which was passed at Monday’s Council meeting.

“This is a great deal for Council, it’s a great deal for the sporting clubs, it’s a great deal for residents, and it’s a great deal for the school,” he said.

“Council-owned facilities are leased to community groups, sporting clubs and private groups for many different uses. This is no different, except that the Banyule Community will have the benefit of two new pavilions with female changerooms and accessibility improvements with no cost to Council.”

We have included new clauses in the lease after extensive community consultation. These included traffic and parking management plans, limiting the hours of use, protection for heritage buildings and a requirement that no new fences could be erected.

“The vast majority of people who we spoke to supported this lease,” Cr Melican said.

Ivanhoe Grammar is one of 10 tenants that share the use of Chelsworth Park sporting facilities. The other tenants are community cricket and athletics clubs and Auskick.

Under the terms of the new lease the school has priority use of the sports grounds and pavilions at Chelsworth Park for approximately 7% of usable (daylight) hours, primarily weekdays after school until 5.30pm and Saturday mornings.

Cr Melican said IGS had proved itself a trustworthy tenant of Chelsworth Park and that we would continue to work with the school to deliver the pavilions and other terms of the agreement. A Council officer would be appointed to a steering group to manage the project.

“This new lease is about improving the facilities, respecting the past and building for the future. It was a very clear choice,” he said.

We have joint user agreements with other schools and is investigating further opportunities for collaboration to secure priority infrastructure.