FAQ

The Swan-Canning River system passes through the Town of Victoria Park. Several stretches of associated foreshore that occur within the Town include McCallum Park/Taylor Reserve, Belmont Park, Burswood Park and Balbuk Way. The Town’s connection to the river by land places a special need on management of water quality, vegetation, fauna and physical access to the foreshore, to enhance community benefit.

However, there are a number of threatening processes to this foreshore. These are:

• development

• weed invasion

• uncontrolled access

• clearing and habitat fragmentation

• erosion (e.g. from boat wash, uncontrolled access, clearing)

• infrastructure failure (e.g. river walling).

In order to address these threatening processes, the need for a holistic management plan for the foreshore that is encompassed within the Town was recognised and the Foreshore Access and Management Plan was developed in 2015.  The plan provides a framework to take a coordinated and consistent management approach to the long-term ecological sustainability and optimisation of access and utilisation for the community.

Working in accordance with the Foreshore Access and Management Plan, the Town is now progressing the next stage, which is focused on the design of Taylor Reserve and McCallum Park. This first stage comprises two components:

• Concept design for the landscape elements of the site

• Detailed design for the river edge treatments at McCallum Park/Taylor Reserve.

Whilst McCallum Park/Taylor Reserve is highly valued and utilised as a fitness, activity and event destination/location, the site has been highly modified over the last 60 years with little if any remnant vegetation remaining. There is a failing river wall that runs along its length, limiting access to the water and presenting a potential safety risk to reserve users.

The objectives of the Taylor Reserve and McCallum Park design are:

• Enhance the natural resources across McCallum Park/Taylor Reserve, both for long-term ecological sustainability and optimum community access and utilisation

• Detail means to mitigate or minimise threatening processes to the foreshore

• Detail recreation and leisure resources and provide for public use of the area where appropriate, while maintaining and enhancing natural ecosystem processes

• Develop interpretational amenities consistent with the values of the area.

An engagement process began in 2014/15 for the development of the overarching Foreshore Access and Management Plan and continued in 2016/17 for the development of the McCallum Park and Taylor Reserve design. It involved:

• stakeholder workshops x 2

• general community workshop

• adjacent resident and ratepayer stakeholder workshop

• internal working group consultation

• Elected Member Briefing Sessions

• online engagement

• advertisements in the Southern Gazette, and on the Town website, Facebook and Twitter

• letter drop to adjacent residents and ratepayers

• submission process

• information session.

2.  Review of consultation feedback.

3.  Subsequent modifications made to the draft plans as a result of the content analysis from the consultation periods.

For further details of the overall consultation, visit the document library

The Town of Victoria Park Council has the ultimate decision regarding the design. Feedback from the community will be provided to the Council to assist them with making their decisions.

In regards to the foreshore treatments at McCallum Park and Taylor Reserve, the intent of the concept plan and detailed design is to address accessing the river’s edge for recreation. Access is currently limited due to the design of the current river wall with only one area, which is used for disabled water skiers, offering direct access via a pontoon to the river’s edge. River edge treatment should focus on the need for river access, coupled with shoreline stabilisation and habitat creation for wildlife. 

This includes:

• the creation of beach areas

• repair or replacement of river walls where erosion has caused damage to the bank and existing infrastructure

• incorporating fringing vegetation including dense sedge plantings where possible in front of walling

• continuity with upstream (Burswood) and downstream (South Perth) foreshores. Recently developed foreshore stabilisation concepts for Burswood are intended to be shared.

• Ask a question and we will respond
• Register to attend a community workshop to view and discuss the detailed design
• Reading information in the document library or viewing the Your Thoughts McCallum Park and Taylor Reserve Concept Plan McCallum Park and Taylor Reserve Concept Plan page.