A 50-year plan and a new Government Agency to manage the combined Greater Sydney Parklands (GSP) have been proposed in a bold new vision for managing the city’s network of parklands and green open spaces.
Supported by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) which has produced a Discussion Paper setting out the proposal, the new GSP is out for public comment.
Launching the draft 50-Year Vision for Greater Sydney’s Open Space and Parklands the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Rob Stokes said it would put NSW on a path to the first-ever metropolitan-wide plan for the city’s open spaces and parklands.
“Our city’s parks are one of our greatest assets and belong to all of us,” Mr Stokes said.
“It’s time for a clear, single vision to protect, manage, enhance and expand them for generations to come,” he said.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how we need to change the way we look at our public spaces – not as parks in a city but rather as Sydney as a city within a park.”
Mr Stokes said GSP would bring together the Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust, Parramatta Park Trust, and the Western Sydney Parklands Trusts, as well as the parklands of Callan Park and Fernhill Estate.
“In the past, the individual parkland trusts have had a sole focus on the land within their boundaries,” he said.
“Now we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to look beyond those boundaries to plan for our parklands and open spaces over the next 50 years as a connected and vital network that forms the backbone of our city.”
He said the new city-wide Agency would work in partnership with communities and local councils across Greater Sydney to champion the 50-year Vision and ensure the State was working holistically to expand and improve open spaces and parklands.
DPIE’s 31-page Discussion Paper, including information on how to contribute to the consultation, can be accessed at this PS News link.
