A new castle playground is on its way to Ashburton
Thank you to everyone who shared their feedback
You told us the castle theme at Dorothy Laver Reserve East is a local favourite, and we’re excited to share a final design that brings this to life.
We plan to build the playground in from early 2026. Once the timeline is confirmed, we’ll share updates on this page and by email – if you would like to be notified by email, select the +Follow button at the of this page.
We’re replacing the furniture to make sure it meets accessibility needs and works for everyone in our community.
We’ll follow Council’s Public Realm Asset Manual (PRAM), which guides how and when public furniture is replaced or installed across Boroondara.
Dorothy Laver Reserve East is a local playground, which means it’s designed for families who live nearby and typically visit for shorter stays.
A playground’s category determines the budget, design focus and scope of the upgrade. Read more about this on our Upgrading Boroondara’s playgrounds page.
Because of this, local playgrounds usually don’t include:
- Public toilets – these are provided at larger district or regional playgrounds that attract longer visits.
- Sand pits – sand and water play need higher maintenance, so they’re generally reserved for bigger playgrounds.
- Shade sails – we use existing trees, or plant new ones, to provide natural shade over time.
Why we're upgrading this playground
This castle themed playground was built in 2004. It needs an upgrade because:
- the current play equipment is ageing
- the posts in the main timber play structures are starting to rot and need to be replaced.
The upgrade aims to:
- create a playground that meets the needs of children and families for years to come
- offer a variety of play activities and experiences for children of all ages, from toddlers to older children.
- improve accessibility around the playground.
Community consultation
We invited the community to share their ideas through 2 rounds of consultation. Thank you to the 52 people who took part and helped shape the final design.
How we spread the word:
- Posted information about the consultation on Council’s Facebook and Instagram channels
- Delivered postcards to nearby homes
- Placed posters promoting the consultation at the playground
- Featured the consultation in the Boroondara Bulletin
- Emailed Your Say Boroondara subscribers and local schools
- Promoted the consultation in the Fortnightly Feed e-newsletter
Stage 1 consultation
In August and September 2024, we invited you to share what you love about the current playground, and what you'd like to see improved. Your feedback helped us create the draft design for the new playground.
Community members took part in the consultation. Of those who responded:
- 69% were women
- 52% were aged 35 to 49
- 83% live locally in Ashburton or Glen Iris.
You gave us great insights about how you, your child or your family use the space. Here’s what we heard:
- Keep the local favourites: 78% of you want to keep most of the existing play equipment, with the track glide, tunnel and monkey bars topping the list.
- Design for all ages: Many of you said the playground is mostly suited to younger children, and many of you visit less as your children grow. You’d like a space that works for toddlers all the way up to kids aged 8 and older.
- The current castle theme is important to you: 59% rated it 3 stars or higher on a scale of 1 to 5. It’s especially loved by locals who grew up playing here, with many still calling it “The Castle Park”.
Stage 2 consultation
In December 2024, we invited you to review the draft playground design and share your thoughts. We wanted to make sure we understood your ideas from the first stage and are designing a playground that reflects what you love.
22 community members participated in this stage of the consultation. Of those who responded:
- 71% visit the park mainly for the playground
- 48% were women
- 67% were aged 25 to 49
- 86% live near the playground.
- You don’t want to see too many changes to the playground – while we do need to renew this playground because of timber rotting, many of you want to keep the existing design and castle theme just as they are.
- The play items are on the right track – swings and monkey bars were your favourites!
- 72% of you liked the green and cream colour palette – so we’ve kept that in the final design.
- Many of you didn’t like the plastic elements in the draft design – so we’ve updated them to have a natural timber look and feel.
