Onkaparinga residents can help shape the future of the city’s parks, reserves, and playgrounds by providing feedback on the council’s draft Open Space Strategic Management Plan 2025–2030.

The plan will guide the next five years of open space development, focusing on sustainability, quality, and meeting the needs of a growing population.

The draft plan has been developed based on extensive community feedback gathered between November 2023 and January 2024, involving surveys, online engagement, and face-to-face interviews.

Feedback from residents has played a crucial role in shaping the plan’s focus on enhancing the quality of open spaces, ensuring they are accessible, safe, and meet a variety of community, environmental and recreational needs.

“Our community made it clear during the first round of engagement that they value quality over quantity,” says Mayor Moira Were.

“This plan reflects that priority, providing high-quality spaces that will serve our growing population while remaining financially sustainable.”

The draft plan outlines service levels for key open space features such as playgrounds, dog parks, shade, and public toilets, and includes benchmarking against national and state trends and assessments of current facilities to ensure the city is aligned with best practices.

Under the plan, the council says it will deliver the following outcomes over the next five years:

• Renew Jubilee Park, one of the key Regional Level Parks in Onkaparinga.
• Start planning for a new Regional Level Park at Aldinga.
• Upgrade six District Level Playgrounds across the city.
• Renew 14 Neighbourhood playgrounds, providing improved recreational spaces.
• Exceed industry benchmarks for playground provision for 0–14-year-olds.
• Explore opportunities to increase tree canopy and suitable use of water and habitat creation.

“These outcomes will be delivered in alignment with our Long-Term Financial Plan and Strategic Asset Management Plan, ensuring we enhance the quality of our open spaces in a financially responsible way, that doesn’t create an unsustainable burden for future maintenance costs,” Mayor Were says.

The plan also focuses on creating opportunities for the future use of open space, including options like improved environmental sustainability, addressing climate change with urban greening initiatives, reducing landfill, and promoting biodiversity.

By balancing the renewal and replacement of existing playgrounds, the plan prioritises larger, regional facilities while responsibly managing smaller neighbourhood spaces, in line with community preferences.

“We’ve taken a long-term view with this plan and our aim is to create spaces where residents can enjoy outdoor activities, play, and socialise, all while protecting and enhancing the natural environment," Mayor Were says.

“As the region’s population grows, it ensures there will be enough high-quality parks and facilities to meet demand and support active lifestyles, contributing to mental well-being and quality of life for all residents.”

The community is encouraged to review the draft plan and submit feedback before 2 February 2025. Feedback will help refine the final plan, which is expected to be presented to the council for approval in mid-2025.

Residents can share their thoughts online or attend one of several in-person sessions during the engagement period. To view the draft plan and provide feedback, visit the council's Your Say page.