Maroondah council is seeking the community’s opinion on a bid to sell Bronhill Road Reserve – a 2,216 square-metre park in Ringwood East – to neighbouring aged care provider Donwood.

The council says the sale could support expansion of neighbouring aged-care facilities while retaining public access to the site, while a group of locals is opposing the sale, arguing impacts on vegetation and land.

Bronhill Road Reserve consists of a block of council-owned land currently used as a local reserve and playground.

It sits on the border of a residential aged care home, community centre and six independent living units operated by Donwood Community Aged Care Services at various sites on Diana Road.

At its meeting on July 20, Maroondah council voted to commence consultation on the proposed sale of Bronhill Reserve, which includes notifying the public and community engagement.

According to the council’s Have Your Say page, the move could create a partnership which may “support better connections through the area, play opportunities, ongoing community use and improved integration with surrounding services”.

Maroondah mayor Linda Hancock said if the land was sold to Donwood, it would “support [the] expansion of its facility”.

“Donwood has committed that with any future development they would ensure the site remains publicly accessible with paths, playspace and other amenities,” she told the Eastern Melburnian. “Any future development application from Donwood would require council approval and provide a further opportunity for community consultation.”

Nearby Maroondah residents have voiced their opposition to the sale and any connected development on the land, including Suzy Stojanovic, who has been a local since early 2009.

“It’s our only green space that we can access without getting in a car or trying to cross Maroondah Highway,” she said. “With more and more built environments surrounding this particular space … this is invaluable to us.”

Maroondah council is welcoming all community feedback on the proposed sale until Friday August 28.

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Two of Melbourne’s leafy eastern councils are taking different approaches to their urban forests, with Boroondara committing to grow its tree canopy while Monash councillors have voted to retain extra scrutiny over protected tree removals.

In a late July council meeting, Monash councillors rejected a proposal that would have allowed council staff to approve tree-removal applications without a council vote.

The majority of councillors argued public oversight over tree removals was important.

In another eastern suburbs council, Boroondara endorsed its next two years of actions to improve tree canopy and urban biodiversity. More than $8.7 million will be spent over four years and almost 10,000 trees planted.

The Tree Canopy Strategy Action Plan aims for 30 percent canopy cover by 2040, including 27.5 percent across private land – a 3.5 percent increase over 25 years.

The plan includes $2.1 million in 2026/27 and $8.75 million over four years, with a target of planting 2,000 trees each year. Seven hundred of these trees each year will be provided by the North-East Link project, which aims to plant two new trees for every one removed.

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Melbourne's growing reliance on cars is at odds with its multi-billion-dollar investment in public transport, according to an RMIT urban policy professor who says the city needs to rethink the vast areas of land devoted to parking around suburban railway stations.

Professor Jago Dodson said train stations including Ringwood, Ringwood East, Croydon and Mooroolbark had substantial areas devoted to car parking, reflecting Melbourne's reliance on driving to access the rail network.

“Car parking is pretty low value,” he told the Eastern Melburnian. “We’re building multi-billion-dollar rail infrastructure and then combining it with the automobile, which is a mode that we're trying to reduce to try and reduce competition with our train network. It doesn't make a lot of sense to be building high-quality rail infrastructure … and then providing car parking around them.”

As part of the Suburban Rail Loop East project, a number of high-rise car parking buildings have been proposed across the east – including a multi-level car park in Glen Waverley to replace the removal of 400 parking spaces to make way for the new station construction.

The State Government’s overall stance on the project’s reliance on cars is that it would reduce it over time, but infrastructure is needed initially to cope with those who still need to drive to the new stations.

According to statements from the Suburban Rail Loop Authority, the SRL would see 600,000 cars taken off the road. From 2035, the SRLA will also impose a car parking fee for permanent owners of these off-street car parking spaces, which is set to return about $800,000 of funding back.

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This week’s quiz focuses on the transport options across Melbourne’s east.

Send your answers to me via [email protected] and I’ll reveal the answers in Friday morning’s newsletter.