Draft Beaumont Common Management Plan

*** UPDATE ***

In response to community concerns, Council undertook a community co-design process to develop a draft Beaumont Common Management Plan. Consultation undertaken in April 2024 revealed mixed levels of community support and opposition to the draft Management Plan.

Given the unreconciled disparate community views and costs associated with some proposed infrastructure changes, a list of principles were developed to provide clarity and certainty regarding the management of the Common.

During our Ordinary Council Meeting on 20 August, Council endorsed the Beaumont Common Management Principles:

Management Objectives

Council manages Beaumont Common in line with current strategies, policies and plans regarding tree conservation and community land management, with the objective to provide the community with recreational opportunities while prioritising environmental considerations.

Council’s current work at Beaumont Common includes site conservation, tree management, lawn maintenance, and biodiversity management.

Trees

1. The trees at Beaumont Common will be managed according to Council’s tree management policies and procedures.

2. Where feasible, trees required to be removed according to Council’s tree management policies and procedures will be replaced with Grey Box trees or other suitable native trees. Some dead trees may be retained as habitat in line with Council’s tree management policies and procedures.

3. Succession planting for the Grey Box trees will not occur in existing grass space, with the exception of the areas at the western end of Beaumont Common shaded in red in the following picture:

Mulch

1. The use of imported mulch throughout Beaumont Common will be minimised other than where required for tree conservation purposes.

Biodiversity Areas

1. Existing biodiversity areas will be managed according to Council’s biodiversity policies and procedures.

2. The existing biodiversity areas will not be expanded to encroach on the existing grass areas. 

Grass Areas

1. Existing grass areas will be managed according to Council’s standard lawn maintenance and watering practices.

2. It is acknowledged that in the absence of improvements to irrigation, soil profile and drainage, some areas of grass may not be visually aesthetically pleasing all year round. This also applies to some areas beneath tree canopy.

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Community Engagement April 2024:

The community and Council have worked together to develop a draft management plan for the Beaumont Common with the aim to find a balance between useable open grass space and the conservation and enhancement of the Common’s important biodiversity and Grey Box trees.

Overview of the draft plan

The draft management plan provides clear instructions on how the Common will be managed and used in the future.

Implementing all the proposals in the draft management plan will result in an increase in open grass space, and a balanced split between open grass and biodiversity areas.

Key features include:

• Consistently irrigated grass areas and minimising mulch under trees within open grass spaces.
• Thinning out the denser middle storey vegetation in some areas to encourage biodiversity more typical to Grey Box forests.
• Removing some garden beds and sections of lower quality biozone areas to return to open grass space.
• A 1.5m wide compacted-rubble path to allow people of all ages and abilities to access the entire length of the Common. Signage and other controls will be implemented to deter bike-riders from the path.
• Remove six vandalised juvenile Grey Box trees and four small existing non-indigenous trees to return to open grass space.
• Replace three vandalised juvenile Grey Box trees on the western side of the site as part of a succession plan for when other trees in the reserve reach the end of their life.

The management plan also proposes to gradually remove 11 mature exotic trees but only when each tree reaches its natural end of life:

• Five of these trees are declared weed species.
• Two of these trees are within biodiversity areas and will be replaced with native Grey Box trees.
• The other nine trees are located within grass spaces and are proposed to not be replaced once they reach end of life.

As well as opening up useable open grass space, the removal of exotic species allows existing Grey Box trees to expand their canopy.

The draft management plan is based on the outcomes of a community survey and two workshops and seeks to balance the diverse views of our community.

Council is now seeking your feedback on the draft management plan.

Next steps

Based on the feedback on the draft management plan, a final plan will be prepared and reviewed by Council mid 2024.