Nillumbik Council has adopted a management plan for the Kangaroo Ground War Memorial Park.

An endorsed concept for the park was pared back by the Council and replaced by a draft management plan.

Purpose of the management plan is to provide a practical road map for maintaining and enhancing the existing functions and character of the park with minimum change and moderate investment over a seven-year timeframe. It will enable the Council to plan budget allocations and seek grant funding opportunities for the delivery of works outlined in the plan.

The draft management plan was unanimously endorsed at December’s Council meeting with a number of changes, including incorporating improvements to help visually integrate the caretaker’s residence within the park.

Mayor, Cr Frances Eyre, said the drafting and amending of the management plan was aided by extensive community input.

“Community members and stakeholder groups had the opportunity to put forth their views in a number of consultation periods this year,” Cr Eyre said.

“We have worked very closely with the community, particularly key park stakeholders, through the process.

“The draft management plan strikes the right balance for the community and user groups with an interest in the park,” she said.

Sugarloaf Ward’s Cr Ben Ramcharan praised the collaborative effort that went into creating and refining the draft management plan.

“I’m really pleased to see that the community has been listened to,” Cr Ramcharan said.

“There are many different stakeholders who want to use the parks in many different ways. We put them all in the same room and they’ve worked incredibly well together to help create a plan that will guide the park in a direction they can all be happy with.

“It’s a fantastic start to a long project that will bring the park into the condition it deserves to be in.”

The adopted plan will be able to be viewed early this year at Participate Nillumbik.