The City of Gosnells in Western Australia places great value on the benefits of high quality public open space.
The City recently comprehensively assessed the form and functionality of the Public Open Space (POS) in each of its 11 suburbs.
This work resulted in the creation of a Public Open Space Strategy, which is guiding a holistic approach to POS provision in the City over a 30-year period.
The Strategy allows the City to coordinate decisions affecting the provision and standard of POS in an efficient manner to achieve the best possible outcomes for the community.
The Strategy has led to the City actively seeking to purchase land to enhance existing POS in certain suburbs and selling existing POS with poor functionality to provide funds for park enhancements.
For example, in recognition of the shortage of POS within the suburb of Beckenham, the City has recently purchased land to allow for the future expansion of a small reserve.
This purchase will provide a large, accessible and usable space for the community and allow a small and poorly located parcel of POS nearby to be sold.
Maddington was also identified as a suburb with a shortage of quality POS, with much of the existing parkland too small to be functional.
Consequently, the City is seeking to sell several very small parks and has recently purchased a number of contiguous parcels of land in the suburb which will be developed to create a large, high quality parkland.
City of Gosnells Mayor Olwen Searle said that the City’s POS Strategy gives it the ability to identify property and land that would have value as a high quality community park.
“The City has made several land purchases in the past few months to improve the recreational spaces available to local residents and the community,” she said.
“I am particularly proud of this outcome because as average lot sizes continue to fall, greater pressure is placed on local governments to provide quality open spaces as a substitute for smaller back yards.”
The City of Gosnells is nearing completion of the first, six year phase of the 30-year POS Strategy, with nine park enhancements already completed.
