New open spaces are being delivered within walking distance of Box Hill Gardens as part of Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) East, with designs incorporating feedback from the local community.
Two new permanent parks will be built at Ellingworth Parade, and Watts and Court streets, creating spaces for families and friends to gather and play throughout construction of SRL East.
The welcoming, green and accessible spaces will feature places to sit, relax and exercise – close to the future SRL East station at Box Hill.
Community feedback helped shape the designs which include more greenery and shade, drinking fountains, comfortable seating, open lawn areas for picnics and casual exercise, as well as safe, accessible walking paths.
The Ellingworth Parade park features a new multi-use court, play equipment and bike parking facilities, while the Watts Street and Court Street park offers a nature play space using natural materials, providing a chance for children to connect with the outdoors.
The 2 spaces deliver more than 6000 square metres of open space in the heart of Box Hill.
The new parks will replace a section of Box Hill Gardens needed to build the new underground SRL East station for up to 8 years. The 2 new spaces will open before major works at Box Hill Gardens starts.
Once works in Box Hill Gardens are complete, the space used during construction will reopen to the community.
The new SRL underground station will have a convenient connection to the existing station and will be surrounded by new and upgraded plazas, and a new linear park on Whitehorse Road. SRL will make it easier to visit the heart of vibrant Box Hill and its growing education and health services, including Box Hill Institute and Box Hill Hospital.
Construction is well underway on SRL East, with more than 3000 people already working on the project, tunnel boring machines launching this year and trains running in 2035.
SRL East has been upgraded as an immediate priority on Infrastructure Australia's 2026 Priority List – to reduce travel times and deliver thousands more homes where they’re needed, on the doorstep of world-class public transport, services, jobs, schools, parks and cafes. Future stages of SRL have also been added to the Priority List for the first time – to improve connectivity to Melbourne Airport, and deliver more housing and better access to jobs and services across middle and outer Melbourne.