Former landfill to become regenerative urban park

Brimbank City Council in Melbourne's west is seeking feedback on its vision plan for a 54-hectare site in Sunshine.

The proposed Sunshine Energy Park will transform a former landfill into an urban parkland with a biodiversity corridor and opportunities for sport, leisure, energy production, connection to Country, and regenerative ecologies.

Originally an open grassland on the basalt plains of Wurundjeri Country, the site became a quarry in the late ninteenth century before it was used for landfill.

The landfill closed in 1990 and has since undergone a process of remediation. In 2019, the council engaged GHD to undertake a feasibility study of future options for the site.

The 30-year vision includes broad ambitions to harness circular economy principles, partner with community groups and enterprises, facilitate recycling, and establish food resources and education and community hubs.

The park will be divided into interconnecting zones: sports fields, mountain bike trails, a wetland, a solar farm, a hilltop lookout, a sustainability hub, a playground and an indoor stadium.

Early concept work and background investigations for the vision plan were undertaken by McGregor Coxall with landscape architecture by Brimbank City Council's Urban Design Team, which also worked with Weston Williamson on the concept design for the indoor stadium.

"The Sunshine Energy Park Vision Plan represents the aspirations and possibilities for this new community space," the council said.

The site will also connect with the nearby Albion Station precinct, which is due to be redeveloped by the state government.