Gunnedah Shire, in north-west New South Wales, is known for its wide open spaces.
So when it came time to create the Gunnedah Shire Open Space Strategy 2022-2032 to steer the direction for the shire’s parks, reserves and playing fields for the next 10 years, council knew it was critical to get it right.
Gunnedah Shire has 83.7ha of open space, a high ratio of 6.4ha per 1000 population in comparison with the typical ratio of 3.5-4ha per 1000 for most local government areas.
This made the Open Space Strategy a mammoth task.
Council contracted consultants Ross Planning and worked with them to go above and beyond best practice in community engagement to reach as wide an audience as possible.
Community views were sought through workshops, separate community and sport club surveys, individual and small group interviews and finally, public exhibition of the draft document.
The community survey was distributed via hardcopy, Gunnedah Shire Council’s website and social media, with a series of social media tiles with a total reach of more than 32,000.
The survey was voluntarily answered by 270 Gunnedah Shire residents, a high response rate for a shire with a population of 13,000. The survey allowed the consultants to gather specific information in a range of areas including patterns of use and preferences for open space.
Gunnedah Shire Council adopted the Gunnedah Shire Open Space Strategy 2022-2032 in June this year.
It is now a living document to guide the future of the shire’s considerable open spaces in a way that will reflect the needs and requirements of the community.
