Published on Tuesday, 13 November 2018 at 8:00:00 PM
Tonight, City of Vincent Council reaffirmed that parks and open spaces are a top priority with the approval of a draft Public Open Space Strategy for community consultation.
In late 2016, a Notice of Motion from Councillors Susan Gontaszewski, Dan Loden and Emma Cole put forward the need for a Public Open Space Strategy to ensure parks, reserves and other open spaces meet community need and expectations now and in the future. At the same time, investment in creating new parks, town squares and park improvements have been prioritised and delivered.
One of the first steps in developing the Strategy was a thorough and independent audit of all public open spaces within the City of Vincent. A consultant was engaged in early 2018 to look at how the Vincent community uses parks and outdoor spaces, how population forecasts will impact use and needs, where the gaps are and how they can be addressed.
Public consultation assisted the development of the draft Strategy, including community workshops, meetings with stakeholders, meetings with sporting clubs and user groups and an open online survey.
“It is encouraging to see that a comprehensive and independent audit and report has confirmed much of what we already knew: the City needs more public open spaces in Vincent, and to improve what we already have, to support our growing and diverse population,” said Mayor Emma Cole.
“Parks and open spaces are an important part of everyday urban life and deliver a range of health, social and environmental benefits for our community. Over the next 18 years, our population is expected to grow by almost 37%, with a trend towards a younger demographic. We need to plan for this population increase and make sure our open spaces are the best they can be to meet our needs now and in 2036.”
The report provides a detailed analysis and extensive mapping of the City’s public open spaces, including all the City’s recreational, sporting and nature spaces. The strategy forecasts how population increases and the decrease in backyard sizes will change the way people access public open spaces to meet, socialise, play, relax, exercise and walk their dogs, while also recognising the need to retain the City’s important green areas, biodiversity corridors and heritage places.
“We have made some great steps forward over the past 18 months. We created a new park from a sump in North Perth, doubled the size of Hyde Street Reserve, developed a concept plan for Axford Park, built a new toilet block at Braithwaite Park and developed a draft Master Plan for Banks Reserve. We also added a nature play area to Give Way Park on Scarborough Beach Road and continued to eco-zone various parks and reserves including Menzies Reserve and Leake Street. Early next year, we start construction on North Perth Common, the newest town square in the heart of North Perth, and we will deliver the Leederville Shared Space on Newcastle Street.”
“We will continue to build on this momentum as we work through the priorities in the Public Open Space Strategy. Some of the outcomes in the Strategy are short term wins and others will be longer in the making. We now have a clear direction and plan to guide us in this important investment in our future. I look forward to seeing how our open spaces will grow, be more accessible and better suit the needs of our community,” said Mayor Cole.
The Draft Public Open Space Strategy will be open for a consultation period from 14 November until 28 November and will be available at imagine.vincent.wa.gov.au. Feedback surveys will also be available to fill in at our Administration Centre, 244 Vincent Street, for the duration of the consultation period.
Following consultation, a final version of the Plan will be presented at the December Council meeting.
For more information, visit Imagine Vincent or contact us on 9273 6000 or at mail@vincent.wa.gov.au
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