City of Onkaparinga adopted a revised Open Space Strategic Management Plan at its council meeting on Tuesday 15 July.

The new plan reflects feedback from the community and a local member of parliament and the council says it ensures a smarter, more sustainable investment in parks, reserves and play spaces across the city.

In response to feedback, the council changed the service level from a proposed 1 kilometre to 750 metres, so most households will have a play space within easy reach.

The council also responded to strong support for greener, more climate-resilient spaces. As a result, sites where small play spaces are not renewed will not be lost but will be reimagined with trees, irrigated grass, biodiversity plantings or possibly community gardens.

Other key updates based on feedback include:

• Aligning footpath and open space projects to improve access.
• Retaining irrigation to support greener reimagined sites.
• A clear commitment to ongoing community engagement as renewals and projects progress.

Mayor Moira Were says the final plan supports active lifestyles, climate resilience, and a well-connected network of high-quality open spaces.

"This is not about cutting costs—our overall play space budget is not being reduced. We’re simply investing more wisely, putting more into bigger, better play spaces that serve more people, and reimagining smaller spaces to benefit the environment and neighbourhoods."

The council says it will continue engaging residents as individual play spaces are identified for renewal. Visit the website for updates and upcoming opportunities to get involved.