Last Chance for the Elms in Edinburgh Gardens

Despite the voices of over 1,337 petitioners, the 3068 Group, and the broader community, we are facing a devastating outcome. The three 140-year-old heritage elms are marked for destruction.

The Immediate Timeline

  • This Sunday Morning: The Tennis Club holds a celebration
  • Monday morning: A fence will be erected, permanently blocking pedestrian access along the historic 1887 avenue.
  • Tuesday: The three historic protected elm trees will be felled and mulched along with 36 other trees.
  • Later this month: Alexandra Parade’s medium to be converted from a green refuge to a car park for sport centre users. 

There will be no trace of the elms left—not even a log to sit upon. Any wildlife still hiding in the trees will not survive. The shade and cooling effect of the trees will be lost. Shortly after, the land will be concreted over for high-performance courts; the club has selected a surface more suitable for competitive players than for children.

This weekend is our last chance to see and enjoy these giants. Please take a moment to visit them in autumn glory before the fence goes up.

If you haven’t done so, please sign the petition to parliament to save the trees.

A “Sham” Consultation Process

The Council and State Government claim to have consulted the community three times. The reality is far different:

  • Window Dressing: Two consultations were held during COVID lock downs. Despite consistent objections to the heritage loss, and a backup plan for 7 courts, the Tennis Club’s plans remained fixed at 8 courts.
  • Legislative “Stonewalling”: In May 2022, Council voted to submit this project to the State Government’s “draconian” new planning legislation (Clause 52.30). This purposefully removed third-party objections, bypassing VCAT and any independent planning or heritage reviews. The third consultation commenced after this motion.
  • Ignoring Experts: Council has ignored formal warnings from world-class experts, including Dr. Greg Moore OAM (Elms), Robert Galbraith (Arborist), Dr. Jim Falk (Sustainability), and Terry Nott (Architecture and local history) and Mary Ann Jackson (Accessibility Specialist). A professional disability access report commissioned by us has also been met with total silence.

    No Changes: It is telling that only one change by Council following that consultation was to reduce planting new trees on the hill overlooking the oval – a request from a supporter of the project.  At the meeting, councillors asked if the football pavilion could be moved to a site next to the grandstand – where another grandstand stood from 1906 till it burnt down in 1977. The officers said it would cost a million dollars to redraw the plans. Why consult if the plans are already fixed? Council will persist in a plan for a more intrusive building on top of a mound of toxic waste. They will have to driving concrete piles into the waste so they may as well get rid of it. The building will block views of the oval and grandstand from Brunswick Street. Raising the building above ground will make it hard to access for anyone with mobility limitations. Perhaps the view from the bar will make up for it.

Fact vs. Fiction

The Mayor, Council officers and Tennis Club have repeatedly claimed these trees are “diseased” or at “end of life.” This is untrue. Councils arborist never mentioned disease in two reports. Two independent arborists confirmed these are among the best specimens in the gardens, with at least 20 years of useful life remaining. While our yellow ribbons are labeled “vandalism” and systematically removed, the true vandalism is being funded by taxpayer dollars.

The Legal & Heritage Gap

There are serious questions regarding the legality of this project:

  1. Missing Heritage Impact Assessments: While a report was done for the 1888 Grandstand, no Heritage Impact Assessment has been completed for the loss of the elm avenue itself. Two heritage consultants engaged by Yarra, declined to comment on the remove of the elm avenue. Why? Council has refused to release the “brief” provided to their heritage consultants.
  2. Ministerial Requirements: Under the Crown Land (Reserves) Act, the Minister must be satisfied the lease is not “substantially detrimental” to the public. To date, no evidence has been provided that this test has been met.  The Minister must be “satisfied the lease will not be substantially detrimental to the use and enjoyment of any adjacent reserved land”.  The Act contains a strict procedural requirement: the Minister “must not give approval” for the lease unless they explicitly state in the formal approval that there is no substantial detriment to the use and enjoyment of the adjacent land. This makes the assessment of impacts (trees, historic features) a mandatory part of the legal record rather than just an internal discussion. The opinion from the department that a lease may be allowed under section 17D does not meet this test.
  3. Aboriginal Heritage: No cultural assessment of the area has been undertaken, nor consultation with Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, even though a creek ran through the gardens and red gums that lined its banks remain.

The Petition to Parliament – Our Last Recourse?

Because Yarra Council has refused to engage, our petition is now headed to the Victorian Parliament. This is the only thing we have done that the Mayor has responded to.

The 3068 Group is standing with Liveable Victoria, a statewide alliance of community groups and academics fighting to restore democratic planning and accountability.

We would like to thank Greens Councillors Wade and Crossland, and Dr. Tim Read MLA for Brunswick, for being the few voices of reason in this process.

What you can do now:

  1. Visit the trees this weekend. Join the vigil.
  2. Share the petition one last time: [Link to Petition]
  3. Write to the Planning Minister: Demand to know why a Heritage Impact Assessment for the gardens (not just the grandstand) was never completed.
  4. Write to the Environment Minister: Tell him about the detrimental impact the lease will have on the gardens.
  5. Sign the Alexandra Parade Petition: Alexandra Parade’s medium to be converted from a green refuge to a car park for sport centre users. 

The 3068 Group will continue to fight for genuinely consultative, transparent, and accountable planning for North Fitzroy.

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