Bronhill Reserve is a small neighbourhood park at 53 Bronhill Road, Ringwood East. Maroondah City Council is currently considering selling it to adjoining Donwood Community Aged Care Services.

We are asking Council to reject the sale and keep Bronhill Reserve in public ownership as public open space for current and future generations.

Why does this little park matter?
Bronhill doesn't need to be large or spectacular to be valuable.

It's somewhere to kick a ball or throw a frisbee. Children can walk there with their families, get some fresh air and burn off energy on the playground and grass. Adults can get some steps in away from traffic. There's a seat for a tired parent, grandparent or walker who simply wants to stop for a while.

It's also somewhere to slow down and notice nature.

There are mature native trees and other established trees, birds, insects, fungi and all the small discoveries that happen when you spend time outdoors. With a little imagination, you can even “forest bathe” close to home — sit beneath the trees, listen to the birds and spend a few quiet minutes surrounded by green.

And despite being in the middle of suburbia, Bronhill feels like a little sanctuary. It is tucked away at the quiet end of a residential street, away from the constant movement and noise of the major roads surrounding our neighbourhood. It feels surprisingly secluded.

It caters to different people in different ways and at different stages of life. That's exactly what good neighbourhood open space should do.

Why does public ownership matter?
Council has said that if Bronhill Reserve is sold, arrangements could be made for ongoing community access.

But public access is not the same as public ownership.

While Bronhill Reserve remains Council-owned, it is a public asset held for community use. If it is sold, the land will be privately owned, even if the community retains some rights to access parts of it.

Public ownership gives future generations something much more fundamental: the park itself remains theirs.

This matters particularly because our neighbourhood is changing. Established homes and gardens are increasingly making way for more dwellings. As our population grows and private gardens, vegetation and tree canopy decrease, publicly owned green space will become more valuable, not less.

And this is bigger than Bronhill
Bronhill Reserve is the only public green open space within its immediate residential pocket.

If the only neighbourhood green space here can be sold, what does that mean for other pocket parks and small green spaces across Maroondah?

These aren't leftover pieces of land.

They provide shade and cooling. They provide habitat. They give children somewhere to play. They give people somewhere to walk. They create opportunities for neighbours to encounter one another and community connections to form.

And sometimes they simply give someone somewhere green and quiet to sit for ten minutes.

Those things become increasingly important as our suburbs become denser.

What we're asking Council to do
We support good aged care and recognise the important role Donwood plays in our community.

But meeting the needs of an adjoining organisation should not require the community to surrender ownership of its neighbourhood park.

We call on Maroondah City Council to reject the proposed sale of Bronhill Reserve at 53 Bronhill Road, Ringwood East, and retain the reserve in public ownership as public open space for current and future generations.

Bronhill doesn't need to be a big park to matter.

It's our little patch of green — and it belongs to everyone.