Charlotte Street is an east-west residential street in Richmond, also hosting Richmond Library.
Swan Street Streetscape Masterplan
In 2022 Council adopted the Swan Street Streetscape Masterplan, which identified a ‘Richmond Library Garden’ as one of the five ‘bigger opportunities’ for the precinct:
Pocket park proposal
The 2022-23 budget included funding to prepare a concept design for a pocket pack on Charlotte Street, outside Richmond Library. On 18 July 2023 Council endorsed the draft concept plan for community consultation. On 12 December 2023 council unanimously endorsed the final concept plan, approved a temporary closure, and approved the commencement of the road discontinuation process.
Pocket park concept. Image credits: City of Yarra.
To identify any possible impacts on traffic, council commissioned an independent assessment, concluding that the “impacts to the nearby signalised intersection of Church Street / Swan Street … were shown to be insignificant” and that the proposal will “provide a benefit for pedestrians and cyclists in the area“. Notably, the report identified that after a road is closed for a pocket park, 10-20% of traffic just disappears:
On 26 November 2024 the new Council cancelled the park.
Richmond Library proposal
Charlotte Street also hosts Richmond Library, located next to the proposed pocket park. Our vision is for the library to be demolished and rebuilt to six storeys, providing new spaces for the library, bookable meeting rooms, public housing, and a commercial rooftop tenancy.
