Brimbank Council has adopted the Sunshine Energy Park Vision Plan to guide the future planning, design, development and ongoing feasibility and advocacy for Sunshine Energy Park.
The Vision Plan provides a framework to transform the site to become the ‘central park’ for Brimbank and Melbourne’s west in the future.
It sets an exciting long-term vision which enables the development of further feasibility studies and business cases that seek funding to deliver various aspects of the Vision Plan.
The Vision
Sunshine Energy Park is located on Wurundjeri Land, situated within the Sunshine Priority Precinct.
The Vision Plan aims to establish the park as a vibrant community landmark that nurtures connection to Country, supports sports, recreation, education, and environmental sustainability. Its location provides an opportunity to create a destination of local, regional, and state significance, thereby enhancing liveability and fostering community cohesion.
The Vision Plan includes these key precincts which deliver on the core vision:
- Cultural and Ecological Precinct
- Community Club Precinct
- Sustainability Precinct
- Outdoor Sporting Precinct
- Play Precinct
- Cycling Precinct
- Stadium Precinct
- Water Management
The history
The Sunshine Energy Park is 74 hectares of council-owned land that is part of the Closed Sunshine Landfills located in Albion and St Albans. The site was quarried for basalt from around 1900 and later reclaimed by landfilling until the late-1980s.
Some of the land is currently leased by community groups and clubs.
Aftercare of the landfill continues, including environmental monitoring, settlement monitoring and control of residual landfill gas. The Closed Sunshine Landfills are now suitable for recreation and community use after extensive rehabilitation works and aftercare management, which will continue into the future.
The park’s name relates to an energy production scheme that operated on the site in the 1990s which used the landfill gas to generate electricity for export to the State network, which has since finished.
Implementation
The Vision Plan represents aspirations and possibilities for this future parkland. Over the next 30 years, partnerships and funding opportunities will be explored for the implementation of each precinct.
The size and ambition of this Vision requires significant collaboration between all stakeholders of this land to explore how the Vision can be realised.
The cost to implement the plan is estimated at $500 million which is comparable to the redevelopment of the Caulfield Racecourse, a project of similar scale and complexity.
Council will advocate and promote the Vision and work with stakeholders and funding partners like government, sports organisations and private investors to undertake further feasibility and business cases to achieve this transformation.
Community feedback
We received extensive feedback from the community and 46 key stakeholder groups between 21 June 2023 and 1 November 2023.
Across the engagement process, there was strong support for elements within the vision that address:
- Walking, cycling, and public transport connections
- Environment sustainability
- Community gathering and social cohesion
- Health and wellbeing
- Supporting sports in Brimbank
- Sunshine Energy Park as a destination
- Potential partnerships
Thank you
Brimbank Mayor Cr Ranka Rasic said:
“This is an exciting opportunity to transform Sunshine Energy Park into a future landmark of the west and create a major recreational and community hub.
Together with community and stakeholder feedback, we’ve been able to present a plan for the future vision of the site, and the potential to create something special for the Brimbank community, long into the future.”
To view the Vision Plan visit www.brimbank.vic.gov.au
