Council’s Open Space Strategy identifies four major community parks spread across the established areas of the municipality. The major community park located at Granite Hills will provide community access into the broader Quarry Hills Regional Parkland for the Mernda/Doreen corridor, which is currently not accessible by the public.

The Granite Hills Park site is a flat area, close to Hunters Road. The location is ideal for passive surveillance, whilst preserving the surrounding ridgelines.

Council recognises the rich habitat within Quarry Hills Regional Parkland, including the large number of kangaroos. Granite Hills Park will invite people into the site in a safe way to limit illegal activity and damage to wildlife habitat. The section of Quarry Hills where we propose to locate Granite Hills Park is currently closed off to the public with little surveillance. The implementation of the major community park will allow the public to access this small eight hectare section of the site in a controlled and safe way. The park and playspace are proposed to be located at the front of the site, meaning vehicles are not required to drive far into the parklands for parking. The water bodies will be upgraded into a high quality wetland, providing further habitat for flora and fauna. The path and trail network will direct users through the site, away from areas of conservation and rehabilitation. Interpretive signage will be located along trails to educate the community on the ecological value of the area.

Currently 430 Ha of Quarry Hills Regional Parklands is public open space and under council management. While Granite Hills Park is constructed, additional public open space will become council-owned. This land will be rehabilitated and managed as conservation areas, allowing the ongoing and increased habitat for local wildlife. Eventually Quarry Hills Regional Parkland will include 1100 hectares, which will provide significant space and habitat for local wildlife.

We acknowledge that trail bike riding is damaging to public open spaces including regional parks, waterways and other linear corridors like pipe tracks.

Council is continuing to work to manage the illegal use of trail bikes within Quarry Hills Regional Parkland. Over the past decade Council has continued to upgrade fence and access points to minimise vehicle entry into Quarry Hills. This work, along with signage upgrades and growing numbers of walkers, has lessened the illegal presence of 4WDs vehicles. Presence is one of the best deterrents to unlawful park use. The implementation of Granite Hills Park along with the walking trails throughout the parklands, will allow for additional users to provide passive surveillance to the site. When public open space is well used, we see a decrease in anti-social behaviour.

Quarry Hills Regional Parkland is a conservation reserve and does not support dogs off leash. As with all public open space, dogs must be on a leash unless within an allocated off leash area. As the site is a conservation nature reserve, no fenced off leash park is proposed. Council is currently undertaking upgrades to the Creek Park dog off leash area in Mernda and Lyndarum Wetlands dog off leash area, in Epping North. There will also be a future fenced dog off leash park located in Wollert.