North Melbourne courtyards and car park given green boost under council grants

Three residential greening projects in North Melbourne will share more than $200,000 through the City of Melbourne’s latest Urban Forest Fund grants program.

Councillors endorsed the funding at their July 28 meeting, with projects in Abbotsford St, O’Shanassy St and a residential owners corporation car park among six successful applications across the municipality.

The largest North Melbourne allocation is $100,000 for a project at 80 O’Shanassy St, where an existing communal courtyard will be transformed into a biodiverse and climate-responsive landscape for residents and local wildlife.

A further $54,100 will support the second phase of Kids in the Car Park, an owners corporation project at Haines St designed to expand greening and improve growing conditions for trees within a residential car park.

The council has also allocated $49,177 to Greening 302 Abbotsford Street, which will convert an underused communal area into a new green space for residents.

Together, the three North Melbourne projects will receive $203,277.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece said the grants would support projects capable of delivering visible and lasting benefits.

“We’re funding the high-impact greening projects that will help us accelerate the Garden City,” Cr Reece said.

Located across some of our busiest streets and iconic destinations, these projects will deliver new greening for the greatest number of people.

The North Melbourne projects are part of the sixth round of the Urban Forest Fund and were assessed for their environmental impact, community benefit, technical feasibility, amenity and value for money.

The High-impact Greening Stream offered matched grants of between $30,000 and $100,000 for larger projects on private property or approved council footpaths.

Environment portfolio lead Cr Davydd Griffiths said community-led projects had an important role to play in expanding the city’s green cover.

“We’re taking community greening to the next level, with up to $1 million in funding for high-impact projects across our city,” Cr Griffiths said.

“These successful projects will play a vital role in greening our neighbourhoods and improving our city’s sustainability and liveability for future generations.”

A total of 10 applications were received, with nine deemed eligible and six recommended for funding. The full funding round is valued at approximately $1.1 million, supported by a council contribution of $453,277.

The Urban Forest Fund has so far delivered five previous grant rounds, contributing more than $3.2 million towards private-realm greening projects worth $14.1 million.

Successful applicants will receive funding in instalments and must meet agreed milestones, maintenance standards and public visibility or accessibility requirements.