METRA Australia
With industry leading solutions in design and durability you can improve your facilities with our access control operations, payment systems and flexible personal locker storage solutions. Your…
read moreRecommendations put forward by an Open Space Community Assembly are being closely reviewed for inclusion in the draft Open Space Strategy for the Macedon Ranges Shire.
Towns and villages in the Macedon Ranges are surrounded by significant landscapes and contain a diversity of open spaces. These have high aesthetic, conservation, biodiversity, social, economic, and cultural heritage values.
Council owns and manages over 900 hectares of open space including public parks, waterways, recreation reserves and bushland conservation reserves.
Some towns are growing, the climate is changing and new recreation trends are emerging. Strategic decisions must be made about the future of parks, sporting fields and recreation to balance the needs of the wider community with protecting the natural beauty of the shire.
Assembly members recommended five key priorities as part of Council’s strategy development and four criteria for a decision-making framework on its future investment in open space.
Assembly members say collaboration with each other, the project consultants and Council’s planners throughout a complex process has been a positive experience.
Twenty-seven community members were appointed to the Assembly via an independent selection process, managed by deliberative engagement specialists i.e. community.
Assembly members reviewed community feedback provided through consultation activities held from February to April this year. This included an online survey revealing community preferences, perceptions and values related to open space, and future priorities for parks, playgrounds, sporting grounds, conservation areas and bushland reserves.
Five top priorities were backed by 87.5% of the Community Assembly, with broad support for:
The Assembly was also asked: “What are the key factors Council should consider from a community perspective when making decisions about investment in open space”?
In response, members voted on their top four criteria to feed into the strategy’s decision-making framework, which will determine investment in open space resources. These are:
Director Environment and Planning, Rebecca Stockfeld said the feedback from participants has been very positive about the transparency of the deliberative engagement process.
“Empowering Assembly members to represent community views in future decision-making sets an important benchmark for how we go about major strategic planning projects.”
The project team will integrate the outcomes of the Community Assembly into the draft strategy, for Council to consider in the first half of 2023.
Towns and villages in the Macedon Ranges are surrounded by significant landscapes and contain a diversity of open spaces. These have high aesthetic, conservation, biodiversity, social, economic, and cultural heritage values.
Image: Courtesy Visit Macedon Ranges
12th June 2022 - Work commences on Macedon Ranges Regional Sports Precinct project
12th February 2019 - Report recommends governance overhaul for Daylesford Macedon Ranges Tourism following festival failure
11th August 2018 - Funding pledge for Macedon Ranges Regional Sports Precinct
4th March 2016 - Macedon Ranges Council to commence $3 million worth of works at Hanging Rock
7th July 2022 - Central Coast Council invites community to comment on action plan for dogs in open spaces
23rd June 2022 - Recreation Aotearoa celebrates New Zealand parks, play and open spaces at Awards Ceremony
16th June 2022 - Hills Shire completes construction of recreational open spaces at Barry Road Reserve
23rd May 2022 - City of Melbourne commits $45.8 million for parks, gardens and open spaces in 2022/23 budget
22nd April 2022 - Dungog Shire Council continues development of its 10-year Open Space and Recreation Plan
21st January 2022 - Strategy for Mount Gambier Sport, Recreation and Open Space opened for community consultation
23rd November 2021 - Toowoomba Escarpment open space upgrade project sees works completed at Meewah and Redwood Park
28th June 2021 - First Ballarat West Growth Area active open space Djila-tjarriu officially opens
22nd March 2021 - Feedback invited on Queenstown Parks and Open Spaces Strategy
30th November 2020 - 24 parks and open spaces across New Zealand receive Green Flag Award
29th September 2020 - Waverley Council releases management plan for open spaces and beaches during summer
15th October 2019 - Community vision for Melbourne’s new public open space
14th October 2019 - Brisbane City Council reveals concepts for the transformation of Victoria Park golf course into new open space
6th October 2019 - Open space and cultural projects aim to transform Saudi Arabian capital
26th June 2019 - South Australian Government commits $13.3 million for open space projects
Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?
As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.
The Complete Guide to Leisure Industry Products & Services.
With industry leading solutions in design and durability you can improve your facilities with our access control operations, payment systems and flexible personal locker storage solutions. Your…
read moreBH Fitness, part of the long-standing and iconic bike manufacturer BH Group, is a global leader in fitness equipment for both Commercial and Home markets. The company, with the headquarters based in…
read moreThe P.A. People is a specialist integrator and contractor in sound reinforcement, audio visual systems, performance lighting and production communications. Over its almost 50 year history the company…
read moreAt easyemployer we've come up with a software solution that manages one of your most important, and often most costly, business resources - your staff. We are helping 100s of clients to…
read moreSince 2019, Active World's development team has been delivering a comprehensive single solution that caters to the diverse requirements of successfully operated and managed leisure centres. The…
read moreHIB Insurance Brokers - Experts in Leisure and Amusement Insurance With over 20 years specialising in the Amusement and Leisure industries, we have the experience to understand your operations and…
read moreHeadquartered in Brisbane with an Australia-wide network of satellite offices, PaySmart is one of Australia’s largest and longest-standing direct debit billing companies. In 1996 we began…
read moreSmart Connection Consultancy is a boutique sport and recreation consultancy who has become one of Australia’s leading advocates for the use of synthetic sports surfaces as a vehicle to grow…
read moreGet your business noticed in our targeted directory. Viewed by 10,000 industry professionals per week!