Fern Tree Park Visitor Node Master Plan

Consultation has concluded

Fern Tree Park is one of the primary places through which visitors and locals access Wellington Park. A public review of facilities including tracks, toilets, picnic tables, barbeques, play equipment and shelters took place from 2014.

In mid-2017 the Council and Wellington Park Management Trust endorsed the Fern Tree Park Visitor Node Master Plan following community wide engagement.

The City worked concertedly with the local community through the Fern Tree Community Association (FTCA) and a range of other stakeholders to reach a final design for Fern Tree Park redevelopment, from the inception of the master plan in 2014 to the current designs contained in the now approved planning application.

In response to community objections to move the toilets out of the park area contained in the draft master plan, the City explored a range of options. It engaged with specialist access and waste management consultants and TasWater to consider a location for the toilet that provided the best access, minimised impact on the park and vegetation, the TasWater drinking water main pipe and a good design outcome.

The bus shelter and new toilets will be combined to minimise the building’s footprint and to be accessible from Pipeline Track and close to the park. The existing bus shelter has been deemed to be at the end of its life and safety concerns exist around it. Similarly, the existing shelter also does not meet current Metro standards for bus stops.

The new bus shelter, toilet and picnic shelter are designed to blend in with existing environment and materials pallet. The design will use timber as cladding material which, over time, will grey off and blend in with the existing landscape in and around the park.

The report, including the results of the community engagement, can be found in the Park and Recreation Committee Agenda on 11 May 2017.

View the final approved plans for the site:

Fern-Tree-Park-Implementaton-Approved-plans-PLN-18-269.pdf(PDF, 16MB)

Works to improve the Fern Tree Visitor node are scheduled to commence in late 2018 - early 2019 and be completed in mid-2019. These include:

  • nature-based playground
  • picnic area
  • bus shelter and public toilet
  • upgrades to the Fern Glade Car Park and Fern Glade Walking Track entrance to improve safety and public access to the park and Pipeline Track
  • landscaping and vegetation removal including two large gum-topped stringybarks.

Please note: a thorough arboriculture assessment of all the trees identified that two large gum-topped stringybarks have considerable decay and poor life projection. It has therefore been determined to remove them as part of this project. The tree’s timber will be reused to create play features in the new playground.

Fern Tree Park is one of the primary places through which visitors and locals access Wellington Park. A public review of facilities including tracks, toilets, picnic tables, barbeques, play equipment and shelters took place from 2014.

In mid-2017 the Council and Wellington Park Management Trust endorsed the Fern Tree Park Visitor Node Master Plan following community wide engagement.

The City worked concertedly with the local community through the Fern Tree Community Association (FTCA) and a range of other stakeholders to reach a final design for Fern Tree Park redevelopment, from the inception of the master plan in 2014 to the current designs contained in the now approved planning application.

In response to community objections to move the toilets out of the park area contained in the draft master plan, the City explored a range of options. It engaged with specialist access and waste management consultants and TasWater to consider a location for the toilet that provided the best access, minimised impact on the park and vegetation, the TasWater drinking water main pipe and a good design outcome.

The bus shelter and new toilets will be combined to minimise the building’s footprint and to be accessible from Pipeline Track and close to the park. The existing bus shelter has been deemed to be at the end of its life and safety concerns exist around it. Similarly, the existing shelter also does not meet current Metro standards for bus stops.

The new bus shelter, toilet and picnic shelter are designed to blend in with existing environment and materials pallet. The design will use timber as cladding material which, over time, will grey off and blend in with the existing landscape in and around the park.

The report, including the results of the community engagement, can be found in the Park and Recreation Committee Agenda on 11 May 2017.

View the final approved plans for the site:

Fern-Tree-Park-Implementaton-Approved-plans-PLN-18-269.pdf(PDF, 16MB)

Works to improve the Fern Tree Visitor node are scheduled to commence in late 2018 - early 2019 and be completed in mid-2019. These include:

  • nature-based playground
  • picnic area
  • bus shelter and public toilet
  • upgrades to the Fern Glade Car Park and Fern Glade Walking Track entrance to improve safety and public access to the park and Pipeline Track
  • landscaping and vegetation removal including two large gum-topped stringybarks.

Please note: a thorough arboriculture assessment of all the trees identified that two large gum-topped stringybarks have considerable decay and poor life projection. It has therefore been determined to remove them as part of this project. The tree’s timber will be reused to create play features in the new playground.