A fun new nature-discovery playground is coming to Surrey Hills
Thank you to everyone who shared their feedback.
You told us you loved the new swings, accessible spinner and play unit, and opportunities to connect with the natural surroundings. We’re excited to share a final design that brings this to life.
We plan to start construction in 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 top of this page.
Here's the final design
You can view the features by selecting the hotspots on the map below:
- Basketball/netball hoop.
- The installation of play equipment on the Essex Street side of the park.
South Surrey Park playground is a local playground, which means it’s designed for families who live nearby and typically visit for shorter stays.
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.
The playground’s category (local, district or regional) helps shape the upgrade – including how much we spend, what we focus on in the design, and what features are included. Read more about this on Upgrading Boroondara’s playgrounds page.
Why we’re building a new playground
This playground 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.
Our aim is 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 145 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 homes within walking distance of the playground.
- Placed posters promoting the consultation at the playground, South Surrey Kinder and the Maternal and Child Health service.
- Shared interactive signs at the playground to promote the consultation. Consulted with students and families from Belmore Special School and Ability Works inclusive design team.
- Featured the consultation in the Boroondara Bulletin.
- Emailed Your Say Boroondara subscribers.
- Promoted the consultation in the Fortnightly Feed e-newsletter.
Stage 1 consultation
In July and August 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.
Who we heard from
94 community members took part in the consultation . Of those who responded:
- 13% were children under the age of 14
- 44% were aged 35 to 49
- 48% visit the playground weekly
- 73% live locally in Surrey Hills.
What you wanted to see in the draft design
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: the majority wanted to keep most of the existing play equipment, with the favourite elements being the swings, the timber play unit, the carousel and opportunity to play in nature.
- Design for different ages and abilities: many of you said the playground should offer a variety of equipment suitable for different ages and abilities.
- Maintain natural elements: many of you wanted to keep the natural elements of the playground and mentioned the climbing trees and the creek.
- Option one for the path: 65% rated option one as their preferred choice for the path.
Stage 2 consultation
In February and March 2025, 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.
Who we heard from
51 community members participated in this stage of the consultation. Of those who responded:
- 4% were children under the age of 14
- 58% were women
- 48% were aged 35 to 49
- 74% lived in Surrey Hills near the playground.
Your feedback on the draft design
- Most of you liked the design: 59% rated it positively, giving it either 4 or 5 out of 5.
- The play items are on the right track: you mentioned the agility trail, swing set, main play unit and the feature boulder were the most exciting features!
- Integrate the natural environment further: you suggested opportunities to bring nature into the design and extend imaginative play and discovery around the natural environment.
- Accessibility: you identified further ways to make play elements more accessible for people in wheelchairs.
