3 weeks ago
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February 7, 2026 — 4:54pm
Under the shady canopies of the historic Edinburgh Gardens in Fitzroy North, a quiet conflict is playing out on tree trunks.
Over the summer, three of the park’s 1880s-era elm trees have been wrapped in yellow ribbons with signs warning the locals and visitors that these giants’ days are numbered.
“STOP THE CHOP,” the signs say. But each time these signs and ribbons go up, within a few days they are conspicuously ripped down.
The fight for these three trees – set to be cut down this month to make way for two new tennis courts as part of a multimillion-dollar upgrade of the Fitzroy Tennis Club – is centred on what community activists claim is an unlawful “land grab” of heritage-protected public space for a “private” club.
Fiona Bell, president of Protectors of Public Lands Victoria (PPLV), argues the expansion violates the Fitzroy (Edinburgh Gardens) Land Act 1967, which specifically maps where tennis is permitted and where it is not. PPLV and another resident organisation, The 3068 Group are behind the Save Our Elms campaign.
“Only [a small minority] of the population actually play tennis and want to play tennis,” Bell said.
“So you’re depriving the majority ... for the sake of putting in two extra courts, which would probably only be used a small percentage of the time by a small percentage of the population.”
The tennis club expansion is part of a long-delayed $16.5 million redevelopment of multiple sporting facilities based out of the beloved 24-hectare park. Upgrades include a new two-storey pavilion for the Brunswick Street Oval for two football teams and a cricket club, improvements to the heritage-listed grandstand, a new clubhouse for the tennis club and refurbishment of its existing six courts.
The addition of two extra courts will push the footprint of the tennis club out into what is currently open parkland, taking the three elms and an existing walkway with it.
Club president Cathy Pearl rejected the description of being a private club or the notion of a “land grab” of public open space. The Fitzroy Tennis Club’s roots in Edinburgh Gardens date back to the late 1880s.
“Fitzroy Tennis club is a Yarra Council facility, and we are a community club open to everyone,” she said. “It is a community club run by volunteers as a community service which is in high and growing demand.”
According to Pearl, the club has a membership of 517, with another 497 on the waitlist for an average of two to three years. The courts are also open to the wider community to book year round.
“We would love to welcome more members, particularly those who have recently moved into our community and looking to make some local connections through tennis,” Pearl said.
The redevelopment plans have been through multiple rounds of community consultation, with works due to begin in the coming month with tree removals as the first step. The entire project is due for completion in 2027.
Yarra mayor Stephen Jolly was adamant that the council had jumped all the required legal hurdles for the work, and described the impact to the park as “tiny”.
“I think the people behind the campaign are really winding people up into a frenzy [unnecessarily]. They’re making out like council are a bunch of illegal loggers in the Amazon,” he said.
“This idea that it’s some toffs playing tennis here – these are just ordinary kids from the area. Parks are not static... every year the park changes – we put in a toilet, or we take something away.
“Yarra’s population is about to double ... all our parks need to evolve with the growing need of the population, and that includes sport facilities.”
The Department of Planning and Transport said state approval was granted back in 2023, including the removal of the elm trees, but a spokesman also stated: “Yarra City Council has advised they are rescoping works. No revised plans have been submitted to the state.”
Approval to remove the elms was based on an “an independent arborist” recommendation that the three trees were diseased and should be removed, the spokesman said. However, the community groups dispute this with their own independent arborist report, which found the 140-year-old trees could be safely maintained for another 30 to 50 years.
There are hundreds of trees across Edinburgh Gardens, with 39 in total slated for removal as part of the wider redevelopment project. They will be replaced by 35 new trees.
In 2008, the City of Yarra failed to build a community hub and library on the site after the state government ruled it “inconsistent” with the park’s 1881 Crown land reservation.
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