City of Melbourne progresses with a review of the Royal Park Master Plan

The City of Melbourne has appointed an architecture firm to review and update the Royal Park Master Plan.

Site Office Landscape Architecture, together with Ron Jones, Dr Megan O’Shea and Andrew Seward, were appointed to assist the council in finalising the master plan.

The Melbourne-based landscape architecture and urban design studio is known for creating contemporary and context-driven public spaces and was behind projects like the St Kilda Pier upgrade and Albert Park College.

Ron Jones, alongside the late Brian Stafford, won the competition to design the original 1984 Royal Park Master Plan, while Dr Megan O’Shea is an ecologist from Victoria University whose research interests include conservation and restoration of temperate grasslands in Victoria.

They will undertake a peer review and gap analysis of the draft master plan and prepare a strategic landscape framework to address any issues or gaps in the current plan.

This framework will inform the updated master plan, which will be developed in close collaboration with City of Melbourne officers and communicated to the community.

The president of the Parkville Association, Rob Moore, welcomed the appointment of the landscape architects, describing it as a step in the right direction.

Throughout the consultation period of the draft master plan, Mr Moore has highlighted the importance of the original plan and said it is a major win for the community to have one of the original designers involved in this process.

Local advocacy group Friends of Royal Park, Parkville, is also pleased with the appointment of Site Office to undertake the review of the draft Royal Park Master Plan.

Following the appointment of the landscape architects and consultants, targeted stakeholder engagement is being planned, which will include representatives from the landscape architecture industry, the Parks and Gardens Advisory Committee, and Traditional Owners.

Land managers and technical experts who contributed to background reports for the master plan will also be engaged as needed for specific issues.

Once the peer review and consultation period are complete, the final master plan is expected to be presented by June 2026.