A visit to two local parks in Brisbane’s south-west now reveals more than just open green space. Residents arriving at Durack Common and Grove Street Park will find a range of new additions designed to make these community spaces more welcoming, active and enjoyable for everyone.
At Durack Common on Durella Street, the most noticeable change is the installation of brand-new outdoor gym equipment. Positioned within the park’s open surroundings, the fitness stations provide an opportunity for residents to exercise in the fresh air, whether they are beginning a fitness journey, maintaining an active lifestyle or simply looking for a different way to enjoy the outdoors.
Not far away in Doolandella, Grove Street Park has also undergone a transformation. Families and visitors can now make use of a new picnic shelter and table, creating a comfortable place to gather, relax and enjoy the park.
A new pedestrian gate entrance, complete with a top-pull latch, has improved access, while a connecting pathway links visitors directly from the main footpath to the new shelter.
The improvements do not stop there. An upgraded water tap, along with fresh turf and landscaping works, has helped refresh the park’s appearance and functionality, creating a more inviting environment for regular visitors and newcomers alike.
Photo Credit: CrCharlesStrunk/Facebook
Together, these upgrades reflect an ongoing commitment to enhancing local recreational spaces and ensuring neighbourhood parks remain valued community hubs.
As communities continue to grow, these enhancements serve as a reminder of the important role public green spaces play in bringing people together, supporting healthy lifestyles and creating places where neighbours can connect and enjoy the outdoors.
The future of the Ellen Grove parks precinct is moving towards its next major planning stage, with detailed design expected to begin in 2026 for proposed improvements at Ellen Grove District Park and Waterford Road Park.
Detailed Design Expected For Ellen Grove Parks Precinct In 2026
The project remains in the planning stage, but the direction is now clearer for two parks intended to support play, sport, gathering spaces and green areas for a growing community.
The plan covers Ellen Grove District Park and Waterford Road Park. Proposed features include open space, shelters, picnic tables, a playground, tennis courts and a clubhouse with a kiosk, pro shop, bathrooms and meeting facilities.
Natural areas are also part of the planning direction. The project material states that surrounding environmental values will be considered, protected and enhanced as future improvements are developed.
Photo Credit: BCC
Local Ideas Helped Shape The Park Plans
Early feedback was gathered from 22 May to 13 June 2023, when more than 100 people contributed ideas for the parks. For Ellen Grove District Park, suggestions included climbing ropes, swings, slides, accessible play equipment and a playground designed to fit with the natural setting.
Local input also pointed to the need for places to gather, including shaded seating, picnic and barbecue areas, shelters and toilets. Improved paths through and around the park were also raised, with interest in routes suitable for walking, cycling, scooters, prams and wheelchairs.
Photo Credit: BCC
For Waterford Road Park, the strongest themes centred on keeping existing trees, maintaining the natural environment and adding practical features that would make the space easier to use.
Suggested improvements included seating, picnic and barbecue areas, and walkable pathways. Broader comments also raised safe access, better connectivity between the parks, secure open spaces and consideration of lighting and noise.
Photo Credit: BCC
Support And Concerns Raised During Later Feedback
A second engagement period ran from 4 November to 1 December 2024 after the draft concept plan was released. During that stage, 144 feedback surveys were submitted and about 80 people attended information kiosks.
Most survey responses supported the proposed features, with 121 of 144 responses indicating support or strong support. A proposed green space for informal gatherings or sport was also positively received, with 109 respondents saying they would likely use that type of area.
More than 70 per cent of survey respondents indicated the proposed clubhouse and kiosk would improve the visitor experience. Accessible pathways were also expected to be well used, with 136 of 143 respondents saying they would use them for exercise, movement through the area or walking dogs.
Photo Credit: BCC
The feedback also identified issues to be considered as the project moves forward. Concerns included stormwater runoff, increased traffic from park visitors and the need for more car parking.
Some attendees also raised the need for better pathways and pedestrian crossings to make access to the parks easier. Others raised concerns about lighting linked to the proposed tennis courts, including light pollution and possible curfews for lights and hours of play.
Additional ideas suggested during engagement included waterplay, table tennis, volleyball space and more shade.
Works are expected to commence in 2028, although construction timing remains subject to weather and future funding.
Early works have begun on the Pallara District Sports Park, with the project entering a new phase ahead of main construction scheduled to start in late 2026, subject to weather conditions and approvals.
The park has been in planning since 2023, shaped by community engagement, a detailed sports needs analysis and technical investigations that together informed a final concept plan released in late 2025. For Pallara residents who have watched the suburb’s population grow rapidly while its sporting infrastructure remained limited, the early works signal that delivery is finally underway.
Construction continues until 2028, delivering a major $15 million to $20 million boost to sporting infrastructure in Brisbane’s south-west.
A park designed around what the community asked for
Community engagement conducted through October 2023 invited Pallara residents to share how they wanted to use the future park. That feedback, combined with a detailed sports needs study, shaped a concept plan that reflects the suburb’s growing and active population.
The concept plan shows two sports fields surrounded by shared pathways, spectator areas and team shelters, a future playground zone, water tanks for irrigation, car parking and a clubhouse. Sports field lighting is also included, along with bus pick-up and drop-off zones, making the park accessible for sporting clubs and community groups travelling to and from the site.
The two-field layout gives the park capacity to host multiple sports simultaneously, and the clubhouse will provide facilities for the local clubs and sporting groups that will eventually call the park home. Those clubs will be identified through future tenders as the project progresses toward construction.
Sporting groups are already taking notice
The scale of the planned facility has already drawn attention from local sporting organisations assessing whether it suits their needs.
Algester Little Athletics centre manager Scott Mackay noted the Pallara District Sports Park would need to include a 400-metre running track for his club to consider relocating there, signalling genuine community interest in what the site could ultimately accommodate.
A detailed sports needs analysis has helped shape the plans, with local clubs to be identified through future tenders. The final mix of sports and user groups will be determined through that process, giving the community an ongoing stake in how the park takes shape.
What comes next on the timeline
The project’s current phase is early works, with main construction planned to begin in late 2026, subject to weather conditions and planning approvals. The full project timeline runs through to 2028, with further stages of the broader Pallara Open Space Network Corridor subject to future funding allocations and development agreements in the area.
Project budgets will be confirmed once planning, design and tender stages are complete.
For more information or to follow the project’s progress, contact the project team on 07 3178 5413 during business hours, email cityprojects@brisbane.qld.gov.au, or click here.
Early works on the Pallara District Sports Park at 65 Van Dieren Road are set to get underway from late March 2026, with main construction now scheduled to begin in late 2026, subject to weather conditions and approvals.
The February 2026 concept plan update confirms a revised timeline for the project, following the release of the final concept plan in November 2025. At that time, planners expected construction to begin in early 2026. The updated schedule sets out a two-stage delivery approach, with preparatory civil works on Van Dieren Road starting first before main construction of the park begins later in the year. Pallara and Forest Lake families who have followed the project since community engagement began in October 2023 continue to wait, although works are now set to commence on site.
Early Works
From late March 2026, early works will include building new kerb and channel and footpath on Van Dieren Road, planting new street trees, and installing a new stormwater outlet pipe in J.M. Sullivan Park. These civil works prepare the site’s surrounds and drainage infrastructure ahead of the larger construction effort later in the year. Residents near Van Dieren Road can expect some temporary changes in the area during this period, with a further update promised before works begin.
The early works phase reflects the complexity of delivering a district-level sporting facility from the ground up in a rapidly developing suburb. Eight properties along Van Dieren Road have already been purchased for the sports park and bushland conservation, a process that has been underway for several years as the site was assembled from multiple private landholdings. That land acquisition groundwork now gives the project a clear path to construction.
Final Concept Plan
The final concept plan, released in late 2025 and updated in February 2026, sets out a district-level sports and recreation facility designed to serve Pallara, Forest Lake and the broader southwest Brisbane community. The park will deliver two outdoor sports fields, a clubhouse with public amenities creating a central hub for players, families and visitors, on-site parking and a dedicated bus drop-off, sports lighting and irrigation to support evening use and quality playing surfaces, and a future playground area and picnic facilities site.
The concept plan also incorporates shared pathways, spectator areas, team shelters and water tanks for irrigation. The design responds directly to what Pallara residents told planners during the 2023 and 2024 community engagement rounds, with safe and clean facilities, good amenities, strong access and sufficient parking all identified as community priorities. Local clubs will be identified through future tender processes once construction is closer to completion.
Why This Matters to Pallara and Forest Lake
Pallara’s growth over the past decade has been extraordinary. According to the 2021 census, Pallara had 3,861 residents, a significant increase from the 511 recorded in 2016, and residential development has continued at pace since then, with multiple house and land estates delivered along Van Dieren Road itself. That growth has placed real pressure on the suburb’s recreational infrastructure, with families currently relying on parks and sporting facilities in neighbouring Forest Lake, Durack and Calamvale to meet their needs.
The Pallara District Sports Park directly addresses that gap. For local sporting clubs, the arrival of a district-level home ground with two lit playing fields, a clubhouse and proper amenities opens the door to formalising and growing their presence in the southwest Brisbane corridor. For families, it means a quality community space within the suburb rather than a drive across the city. And for Pallara as a whole, a well-designed district park anchors the suburb’s social infrastructure in a way that purely residential development cannot.
The Pallara District Sports Park also forms part of the broader Pallara Open Space Network Corridor, with further stages subject to future funding and planning processes as the suburb continues to grow.
Project Timeline and Contact
The current project schedule runs from early works in late March 2026 through to main construction commencing in late 2026, with the overall project timeframe extending through to 2028. Residents can expect further updates from the project team before each works phase begins.
For enquiries about the Pallara District Sports Park, the project team can be reached on 07 3178 5413 during business hours or on 07 3403 8888 at any time. Email enquiries can be sent to cityprojects@brisbane.qld.gov.au. Further information is available here.
