Delivering high quality open space

Public open space is a form of green infrastructure that enhances the character of the South District’s neighbourhoods, supports healthy and active lifestyles, and brings communities together. As the District grows, providing for and developing innovative ways to optimise open space areas for recreation, sport and social activities, as well as establishing physical links that support social networks and create a sense of community, will become increasingly important. Delivering connected walking and cycling trails will maximise their use.

The key considerations for planning open space are quality, quantity and distribution. The Greater Sydney Green Grid will help improve access and distribution. There will be relatively few opportunities to increase the quantity of public open space, and therefore greater emphasis will be needed on improving the quality and distribution of open space, including sporting facilities.

Councils already identify innovative solutions for the shortfall in active open space, including making better use of existing sportsgrounds, converting existing open space into sports fields, and partnering with schools to share spaces outside school hours.

Urban renewal also creates opportunities to increase the quantity of open space. Planning for urban renewal needs to consider opportunities to deliver open space including space for active sport and recreation. High density development (over 60 dwellings per hectare) should be located within 200 metres of quality open space and all dwellings should be within 400 metres of open space.

People in urban neighbourhoods should be able to walk to local open space. In high density neighbourhoods, public open space is used like a shared backyard, providing a green communal living space. Open space in high density neighbourhoods needs to be durable, multipurpose and accessible to a variety of users. High density neighbourhoods also need to have high quality open space within close proximity.

In local and strategic centres, Planned Precincts and Growth Areas, local open space is important to provide places for workers to relax and for people to meet and socialise. It also provides for tree and vegetation planting in the centre. Place-based planning can identify opportunities to improve the quality, management and use of existing open space, and to provide new open space.

While 42 per cent of the South District is open space, most of this (87 per cent) is protected in national parks and reserves and large areas of urban bushland. Local parks, open spaces and pockets of native vegetation comprise the remaining 13 per cent and provide local access to the Greater Sydney Green Grid26. The District’s beaches, estuaries and waterways are part of the District’s open space.

Existing open space within the District is shown in Figure 23.

Nature-based recreation also helps connect communities to the natural landscape. Demand for nature-based recreation will need to be managed to minimise impacts on biodiversity.