Parks and Leisure Australia NSW/ACT Announces 2025 Annual Region Awards of Excellence Gala Dinner
Parks and Leisure Australia NSW/ACT is excited to announce that their prestigious Annual Region Awards of Excellence Dinner will take place on Thursday, 12 June 2025, at the stunning Doltone House Hyde Park, Sydney.
The Awards of Excellence Dinner is the highlight of the regional calendar, celebrating outstanding achievements and innovation across parks, leisure, and recreation sectors. This elegant evening brings together industry professionals, local councils, and community leaders to honor excellence and inspire future advancements in the field.
Tickets for this highly anticipated event are now available. Don’t miss the opportunity to be part of a night that showcases the best in our industry while enjoying the sophistication of one of Sydney’s premier venues.
🎟️ Interested in booking a full table (10 seats) at a discounted rate? Contact us to arrange.
🌟 Sponsorship Opportunities are still available! Get in quick to sponsor the category of your choice, or become an event sponsor.
ABOUT THE AWARDS
Each year, PLA acknowledges excellence in our industry through its prestigious Awards of Excellence. These annual awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding initiatives and innovative efforts of ‘The People Behind the Places,’ which promote the wise use of leisure time for a multitude of social, environmental, and economic benefits to the community. It’s a celebration of those who contribute to creating vibrant, healthy, and inclusive spaces for all.
These prestigious awards honour remarkable projects and initiatives that have contributed significantly to the advancement of our industry. Starting within our regions, PLA recognises outstanding achievements across a diverse spectrum of fields, from park development to community engagement programs. The winners of these Regional awards represent what we recognise as excellence, showcasing projects and initiatives that not only deliver outstanding value but also enrich the lives of our communities. As a regional award winner, you become a National finalist and are invited to attend the National Awards of Excellence gala
Please visit the dedicated Awards of Excellence webpage for further details and information on how to apply.
Thank you to our event and award category sponsors for their support
🎉 Meet the Nominees! 🎉
Regional/Rural Australia includes all of the towns, small cities and areas that lie beyond the major capital cities, who make a significant contribution through community initiatives which contribute to the parks and leisure industry. These projects can be playspaces, events, tourism, trails, programs, repurposing of facilities and environmental initiatives.
Carmichael Park – Cessnock City Council
Carmichael Park has been elevated to a regionally significant facility with multiple infrastructure upgrades including lighting upgrades, a multipurpose court, hit up wall, cricket nets, and a new BMX pump track, the first of its kind in the LGA. Through these upgrades, Council has reaffirmed its commitment to providing quality co-located recreational facilities, which contribute to substantial positive social, health, environmental and economic outcomes for the community.
Sponsored by
This award acknowledges outstanding and innovative achievement in the area of technology application and how that application has benefited the industry.
Collating our Canopy – City of Canada Bay Council
The Collating Our Canopy project was initiated to enhance urban canopy cover and improve tree management in the City of Canada Bay. By collecting data on 28,000 trees, including species, health, and size, the project enabled better planning for tree planting, risk management, and urban forest strategies. The integration of cloud-based Forestree platform transformed tree data to supporting the development of the City’s first Tree Asset Management Plan and improving decision-making across departments.
Visitation Analytics – Twin Fin Consulting, with Data Consulting and Lake Macquarie City Council
Coastal Visitation Analytics – Enhancing Public Safety & Recreation Management Twin Fin Consulting is at the forefront of data-driven decision-making in coastal safety and recreational planning. Our groundbreaking Coastal Visitation Analytics Project, developed in collaboration with Data Consulting and Lake Macquarie City Council (LMCC), leverages People Movement Data (PMD) to provide unprecedented insights into beach visitation trends, safety risks, and resource management. Using anonymized GPS data from mobile devices, this innovative approach allows councils to accurately measure visitation.
Water Source Tank Management System for Sports Field Irrigation – Northern Beaches
The Northern Beaches Council has introduced a groundbreaking smart irrigation water control system, which optimises irrigation water usage in terms of both water quantity and water quality. This system efficiently manages multiple water sources, including rainwater, bore water, and potable water, to ensure that water is used where and when it is most needed. As a result, the system has significantly improved turf conditions and sportsground resilience, making it a sustainable solution for local sportsfields.
Rippit Golf Newcastle. Technology generating different experience in Golf – Golf Australia
Rippit Golf reimagines golf for the modern era, transforming small urban spaces into technology-driven entertainment hubs. Located in Newcastle, NSW, Rippit combines short-flight driving ranges, golf simulators, and mini golf into a vibrant, accessible venue that attracts almost 50% female participation. Built on repurposed tennis courts, it demonstrates land-efficient, socially inclusive, and economically sustainable innovation, setting a new standard for golf in the parks and leisure industry.
This award is designed to recognise the combined effort that is required to successfully plan, organise and manage effective initiatives, projects, programs, events and/or festivals which promote and enhance leisure time for a number of social, environmental and economic benefits to the community. Evidence of success should form a component of the submission.
Equitable Sportsground Allocation Policy – City of Parramatta
City of Parramatta has committed to reduce inequality, increase opportunities and remove barriers to participation in sport for underrepresented groups (including women and girls), through the creation and adoption of the Sportsground Allocation Policy, which has the stated purpose of ensuring that Council will allocate the use of its Sportsgrounds in a systematic approach which aligns with Councils broader Sportsground Strategy and values, including to actively contribute to the health, wellbeing, equality, and inclusion of the whole community.
Safer Blacktown: Her Way – Blacktown City Council
Blacktown City Council partnered with Transport for NSW for the Safer Cities: Her Way Program, which aimed to make public spaces, including streets and transport hub precincts, feel safer for everyone, especially women, girls, and gender-diverse people. Council delivered a Her Way project, implementing of a range of pilot public space improvements and events guided by community input. Our pilot public space improvements were influenced by our engagement with over 160 women, girls, and gender diverse people about their experiences of using public spaces around Blacktown station.
MOVE IT CANBERRA! – Belgravia Leisure
The MOVE IT CANBERRA! campaign takes a comprehensive, 360° approach to achieving health and wellbeing outcomes, demonstrating how short-term events can create lasting impacts for everyone in the community.
Artwalk “Coastal Nights” 2024 – Port Macquarie CBD – Port Macquarie Hastings Council
ArtWalk has grown into one of the region’s most anticipated cultural events on the NSW mid north coast transforming the Port Macquarie CBD into a vibrant, open-air festival of light, music and colour. What started as a small, creative endeavour nine years ago attracting 3000 visitors, has evolved into an immersive creative arts experience that attracted 25,000 attendees in 2024. Streets, laneways, and public spaces come alive with stunning art installations, interactive exhibits, live music, and digital projections, offering an unforgettable experience as a community-based initiative.
Pacifica Moving a co-designed, culturally responsive physical activity program for Pasifika mums – Collective Leisure
Pasifika Moving a co-designed, culturally responsive physical activity program for Pasifika mums in Western Sydney.
Sponsored by
Christie Barbecues is an Australian family-owned public barbecue manufacturer. We have focused exclusively on providing the safest, most reliable and sustainable products for over fifty years.
This community facility award recognises facilities that demonstrate innovative features of design, development and operation.
Making Sand Waves: Blacktown City Beach Volleyball Facility Booms in Western Sydney – Blacktown City Council
The Blacktown City Beach Volleyball facility is breaking boundaries, proving that world-class beach volleyball doesn’t need an ocean nearby. Located more than 30 km from the coast, this first-of-its-kind venue in Western Sydney was made possible by a bold project team and partnership with Volleyball NSW and community. Their vision has created an inclusive space for all levels of the volleyball community, redefining accessibility and innovation in sports infrastructure.
Clarence Regional Aquatic Centre Project – Clarence Valley Council
The Clarence Regional Aquatic Centre is the heart of the community, replacing the former Grafton Olympic Pool which was over 60 years old. A new facility which meets the needs of the community was required. Planning commenced in 2016 with community engagement, masterplanning, detailed design and concluded with the construction of a new state of the art facility which includes an outdoor 50m pool and 600 seat grandstand, an indoor 25m heated pool, a combined heated indoor program and leisure pool, a splash pad, accessible amenities and parents room as well as landscaped areas.
Newcastle Beach Skate Park + Promenade – Terras Landscape Architects
The Newcastle South Skate Park and Foreshore Promenade are key components of the City of Newcastle’s ambitious fifteen-year initiative to create a continuous coastal pathway connecting the iconic beaches of Merewether, Dixon Park, Bar Beach, Newcastle, and Nobbys. As a flagship project of the Coastal Revitalisation program, this initiative enhances accessibility and connectivity, community facilities, active play and passive recreation while celebrating Newcastle’s stunning coastline.
Dixon Park Escarpment Lookout – City of Parramatta
The Dixon Park Escarpment Lookout offers a transformative experience for visitors, providing an accessible and unique vantage point overlooking the Parramatta River, the vibrant Central Business District, the new Powerhouse Museum, Parramatta Quay, and the breathtaking sunset views. This project creates an invaluable connection between the community and the natural environment, allowing people to engage with the landscape in an innovative and meaningful way. The design team adopted a “light touch” approach, carefully considering the site’s challenges and environmental values.
Haslams Pump Track Sydney Olympic Park – Sydney Olympic Park Authority, with Department of Planning Housing and Infrastructure
Surrounded by the natural environment, Haslams Pump Track offers a free to ride, inclusive, all-ages, all-wheels recreational space to Sydney Olympic Park’s evolving action-adventure precinct. Haslams Pump Track is the ultimate destination for thrill-seekers and families alike, creating a greater connection to the land and Country. Designed by landscape architects and bike enthusiasts at Common Ground, with community input throughout the process, Haslams Pump Track features three separate circuits tailored for beginner, intermediate and advanced riders.
Gipps Street Recreation Precinct – Penrith City Council
Penrith City Council transformed its disused waste facility site at Gipps Street into an exciting recreation precinct. The site presented a unique opportunity to address Penrith’s need for more sport and recreation facilities to support the growing population. It’s a dynamic facility that responds to community requests for a variety of recreation opportunities with sports fields, playspaces, youth zone, dog park, and more. The precinct welcomes thousands of visitors weekly, supports an active and vibrant city, and enhances Penrith’s reputation as the most liveable place in Western Sydney.
Tracking Point Lighthouse Accessible Walkway – Port Macquarie Hastings Council
The Tacking Point Lighthouse Accessible Walkway project transformed an iconic heritage site in Port Macquarie into an inclusive, accessible destination. Guided by the Tacking Point Lighthouse Reserve Master Plan, the project introduced a wheelchair-friendly boardwalk using sustainable Fibre Reinforced Plastic (FRP). Community engagement, including input from the Aboriginal Advisory Group and disability advocates, shaped the design.
Manly Dam Trail Upgrade and Boardwalk – Northern Beaches Council
The Manly Dam Boardwalk project has set a benchmark for sustainable and inclusive recreational infrastructure. It has enhanced the visitor experience, promoted environmental stewardship, fostered inclusion, and demonstrated the value of community-driven projects in achieving lasting positive outcomes.
Campbelltown Billabong Parklands – Campbelltown City Council
Campbelltown Billabong Parklands is a four-hectare iconic gateway to the Campbelltown CBD. The Billabong is a regionally-significant parkland and aquatic oasis where community can gather, relax, play and make memories. Inspired by the Dharawal National Park, the Billabong embraces local Aboriginal cultural heritage and brings access to water for local residents and visitors. The design reflects the natural environment of the nearby Georges River system, its tributaries, and O’Hares Creek with a series of interlinked and flexible spaces in a riverine-like parkland setting.
This award celebrates and acknowledges those who protect nature and parks, improve climate resilience, ensure sustainability, and care for our land, as well as champions in all of these areas as part of this award. Awarded to an individual, a team, or an organisation for the development of innovative processes, practices, or technologies that contribute to the development of a sustainable future.
Walk on Wangle Nature Trail – City of Canada Bay
The Walk the Wangal Nature Trail is a transformative project enhancing biodiversity, climate resilience, and community engagement. Delivered by the City of Canada Bay, it restored a neglected biodiversity corridor, planting 60+ native species to support wildlife and urban cooling. It integrates Woody Meadows research, Indigenous knowledge, and community-led conservation. Supporting the Council NSW ‘Biodiversity in Place’ framework, it balances urban growth with green space, fostering sustainability, education, and long-term stewardship, setting a model for urban greening initiatives.
Nandi Reserve, Parks for People – Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, with Arcadia Landscape Architecture
Nandi Reserve, a 12.24-hectare bushland site off Wakehurst Parkway, Frenchs Forest, has been revitalised under the NSW Government’s Parks for People Program. Shaped by community feedback, the upgrades created new pathways and opportunities to improve connection through nature. These include new walking trails, creek crossings and new nature play spaces, as well as areas to sit and rest, all while having minimal impact to the ecology of the natural environment.
Friends of Mrs York’s Garden – Port Macquarie Hastings Council, with Friends of Mrs York’s Garden
In the heart of Port Macquarie, Mrs York’s Garden is more than just a garden – it’s a thriving community hub. What started as a personal project to clear weeds and plant flowers has grown into a beloved community garden, thanks to the efforts of the Friends of Mrs York’s Garden. This transformation from a personal passion to a community treasure and a model for environmental stewardship has recently celebrated its 10 year anniversary of nurturing this space, creating a beautiful area for everyone to enjoy.
Sponsored by
GreenLife Group is a national leader in property services and open space management. GLG delivers a wide range of integrated commercial landscape, horticultural and environmental services that include property and ground maintenance, sports turf, arboriculture, and development of sustainable solutions. www.glgcorp.com
This award celebrates and promotes vibrant, successful well designed and managed new or significantly revitalised parks/ open spaces by recognising and rewarding exceptional examples of best practice in terms of design and management. This includes parks and open spaces that are large, small, linear, along transport corridors, road closures, foreshore and reclaimed urban spaces.
Civic Park and Pendle Creek Wetland Improvement Project, Pendle Hill – Cumberland City Council
The Civic Park, Pendle Hill Upgrade revitalises a key urban park into an accessible, inclusive, and sustainable community space. Featuring enhanced wetlands, new playspaces, fitness zones, picnic areas, and improved pedestrian connectivity, the project balances environmental restoration with diverse recreational opportunities. Extensive community engagement shaped the design, ensuring it meets local needs while promoting urban cooling, biodiversity, and social interaction. This transformation delivers lasting benefits for Pendle Hill and future generations.
Charles Health Reserve Community and Play Space – City of Canada Bay Council
The $5.72m Charles Heath Reserve Community and Play Space in Five Dock is an inclusive, vibrant space for a growing community. With accessible play equipment, including ramps to climbing towers, it supports children of all abilities. Its calming design with muted colours and biophilic elements caters to neurodiverse children. The park also features recreational areas, BBQ spots, fitness equipment, and accessible amenities making it a social hub for all ages and promoting well-being, inclusivity, and community connection.
Central Swim Park, Jack Evans Boat Harbour – Tweed Shire Council
The Jack Evans Boat Harbour Precinct in Tweed Heads is a vibrant 4.3-hectare space that blends recreation, tourism, culture, and nature. Serving as the gateway to Northern NSW, this popular destination offers locals and visitors a wide range of activities, including leisurely strolls, family gatherings, water recreation, community events, and cultural engagement. At the heart of the precinct lies the newly upgraded Central Swim Park, a dynamic community space set against the stunning backdrop of Tweed City Centre.
Engadine Active Sports Youth Precinct (EASYP) and All-Abilities Playground – Sutherland Shire Council
The $6.2 million Engadine Active Sports Youth Precinct and All-Abilities Playground is a master-planned initiative designed to modernise and enhance recreational opportunities in the Sutherland Shire, providing inclusive recreation and play opportunities for people of all ages and abilities. It offers a state-of-the-art inclusive playspace with a grand bespoke accessible treetop walk; inclusive play equipment designed for sight-impaired or non-verbal play participants; accessible plaza-style skating area, pump track, parkour course, fitness course, bike repair station.
Barangaroo Station Park – Arcadia
Barangaroo Station Park is a pivotal piece of landscape architecture that allows commuters and visitors to enjoy a biophilic moment in the urban environment of Barangaroo’s commercial and dining precinct. Designed so that visitors feel a living connection to Indigenous and colonial history, it has become a popular destination with its stunning backdrop of Sydney Harbour, open lawn and 50m feature seat. Made from precast white concrete seeded with oyster shells, the interpretive seat design celebrates the Nawi Cove’s traditional use by Gadigal peoples as a fishing ground.
Kendall Recreation Reserve – Port Macquarie Hastings Council
Kendall Recreation Reserve has been transformed into a vibrant community hub, delivering one of the region’s largest skate parks, an inclusive play space, and inviting green areas. Designed with sustainability and accessibility in mind, the park promotes active lifestyles, social connection, and environmental resilience. Extensive community consultation shaped its development, ensuring it meets local needs while fostering pride and engagement. This project sets a benchmark for inclusive, safe, and multi-functional public spaces, enhancing liveability for Kendall and the wider region.
Lynne Czinner Park – Northern Beaches Council
Lynne Czinner Park is a popular multi-purpose park in a natural setting providing a visual relief to the extensive surrounding development. The park is to be enjoyed by the surrounding community for a range of recreation, social, education and community activities.
Parks for People – George Kendall Riverside Park – Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure with AECOM
George Kendall Riverside Park’s transformation showcases local and State Government alignment through the NSW Government’s Parks for People program. A former landfill site, reopened in October 2024 with 18 hectares of new parklands, improved connections, facilities, offering enhanced public open space for all to enjoy.
Old Menangle School Site – Wollondilly Shire Council
Council worked with Civille and G3 Architecture to develop the designs for the conversion of the locally heritage listed Old Menangle School into a new community hub and park and for the restoration of the former school building. The project involved Sue Rosen Associates to ensure the design conserved the heritage significance of the site. The project was constructed by Growth Civil Landscapes.
Campbelltown Billabong Parklands – Campbelltown City Council
Campbelltown Billabong Parklands is a four-hectare iconic gateway to the Campbelltown CBD. The Billabong is a regionally-significant parkland and aquatic oasis where community can gather, relax, play and make memories.Inspired by the Dharawal National Park, the Billabong embraces local Aboriginal cultural heritage and brings access to water for local residents and visitors. The design reflects the natural environment of the nearby Georges River system, its tributaries, and O’Hares Creek with a series of interlinked and flexible spaces in a riverine-like parkland setting.
This award is given to a playspace over the value of $500,000 that involves a range of stakeholders, contributes to the creation of a sense of ‘place’ for its local community and exhibits landscape and/or structural design innovation that delights and aids childhood development.
Charles Heath Reserve Playground – City of Canada Bay Council
The $5.72m Charles Heath Reserve Playground in Five Dock is a vibrant, inclusive space designed to serve a rapidly growing community. Featuring accessible play equipment, including ramps to climbing towers, it caters to children of all abilities. The park’s calming design, with muted colours and biophilic elements, promotes sensory comfort, especially for neurodiverse children. The playground also offers recreational areas, BBQ spots, and fitness equipment, making it a social hub for all ages. This community-focused space enhances well-being and fosters inclusivity.
Harold Gregson Reserve – Moir Studio
Harold Gregson Reserve exemplifies exceptional public space development, transforming a complex site into a thriving community hub. Maitland City Council’s strategic vision and Moir Studio’s innovative design seamlessly integrated site remediation with ecological sustainability, creating a place that truly reflects local needs. The reserve offers diverse amenities for recreation and social connection. It is a space where memories are made and community bonds flourish.
Extending a playground legend to a legacy – Orange City Council
A bespoke designed playground, reusing materials and structures of the original Orange Adventure Playground, exemplifies the Orange communities’ vision for an accessible, unique, rewarding and safe play space that carries a story and continues a legacy.
Gregson Park Playspace – City of Newcastle
The creation of the new inclusive playspace at Hamilton’s historic Gregson Park. The new playspace includes equipment for a range of ages and abilities. The playspace provides a combination of traditional and nature based play elements including traditional Indigenous elements including a yarning circle and a bush tucker garden. The playspace is complemented by an upgraded, accessible amenities building and new covered picnic and BBQ area.
Parks for People, Beaumont Hills – Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, with Place Laboratory
The Beaumont Hills adventurous space, is an early transit-oriented public open space, that has transformed state-owned land under the Northwest Metro viaduct, intentionally featuring youth focussed skate plaza, pump track, courts, and brightly painted public art to foster social equity, inclusivity, and intergenerational interaction through innovative design and community engagement. This innovative project was collaboratively delivered by the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure and Place Lab.
Bain Park Revitalisation Project – Port Macquarie Hastings Council
The Bain Park revitalisation project in Wauchope has transformed the community’s premier CBD park with modern, inclusive facilities. Funded by the NSW Government and Port Macquarie Hastings Council, the project features a shaded playground, BMX pump track, and accessible BBQs. Extensive community engagement ensured the park meets diverse needs, fostering interaction and enjoyment. Innovative practices and local collaborations have created a vibrant, sustainable space, now a cherished asset for locals and tourists alike.
Rathmines Youth Hub – Lake Macquarie City Council with Convic
The Rathmines Park Youth Hub is a destination recreation space incorporating a 1000sqm skate park, pump track, basketball court, bouldering wall, car park, public amenities, passive recreation areas integrated within the broader regional park. The youth hub encourages active lifestyles and provides a dedicated and engaging environment for social interactions. It plays a crucial role in promoting well-being, social cohesion, outdoor recreation and exemplifies collaboration between local and state authorities to create a recreational space that benefits youth and the wider community.
This award is given to a playspace under the value of $500,000 that involves a range of stakeholders, contributes to the creation of a sense of ‘place’ for its local community and exhibits landscape and/or structural design innovation that delights and aids childhood development.
Connecting Canal Road Park, Playspace and outdoor nature education space – Cumberland City Council
Connecting Canal Road Park is a transformative project centered on connection—linking people, place, and culture. An upgraded playspace and new outdoor learning space connected by a new shared pathway provide enhance play, accessibility, recreation, and engagement with nature while embedding cultural storytelling.
Trafalgar Park Playground Upgrade – Northern Beaches Council
Trafalgar Park Playground sits within open parklands and surrounded by mature trees. It is an important neighbourhood playground situated adjacent to Newport Public School. The playground has been recently upgraded by inhouse staff to become a larger, more accessible and better integrated into its surrounding environment.
Seddon Park Youth Playspace – Campbelltown City Council with PLAYCE and BEASTMAN
The Seddon Park Youth Playspace delivers a high-quality, inclusive environment for all ages, genders, cultures and abilities. Fostering social interaction, the space provides diverse physical experiences encouraging active play and exploration, including elements of Basketball and ball sports, skate park plaza, parkour, outdoor fitness equipment, passive recreation and a shaded children’s playground, The project’s success lies in its ability to seamlessly blend diverse recreational opportunities into a cohesive and welcoming space, fostering a sense of community and promoting active lifestyles.
Arthur Phillip Park Playground – City of Parramatta
Arthur Phillip Park Playground in Northmead, NSW, is part of dynamic community space blending nature and play. The project is the realisation of a community-led master planning process which has stayed true to course from inception to completion. The inclusive playground promotes active and imaginative play for all ages groups and backgrounds. Thoughtfully integrated with the natural landscape, the playground exemplifies excellence in sustainable and inclusive design on a budget.
Fagan Park Children’s Forest – Hornsby Shire Council with Fiona Robbe Landscape Architects
The Fagan Park Children’s Forest connects children with nature through play and environmental education. Transforming an underutilised area, it features over fifty new trees and interactive educational pods. Children engage in discovery-based learning, exploring sustainability, biodiversity, and the importance of trees. Aligned with Hornsby’s Urban Forest Strategy and Play Plan, the space fosters physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development while promoting eco-consciousness in future generations.
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This award acknowledges outstanding research achievement by a group or individual, professionals, student or academics who have made a significant contribution to the parks and leisure industry through expanded knowledge enhancement promoting the benefits or importance of the parks and leisure sector in Australian society.
The Risks of NOT Planting Trees Along Our Streets – Blacktown City Council
Currently, Australian local councils do not plant large shade trees on streets with speeds above 50km/hr. This is because current guidelines state large shade trees present a safety risk to errant vehicles. However, the guidelines only consider one risk – the risk to the errant vehicle. It also does not consider the risks of planting versus not planting trees along our streets. This multi-year, data-driven project changed that and improved the risk-based approach to how and where we plant trees along our streets to keep all road users safe from all risks.
This award recognises the development of strategies for parks, open space, sport, recreation and leisure opportunities by rewarding outstanding examples of strategic planning that have enriched and revitalised a community.
Prospect Pipeline Corridor Strategic Masterplan – Cumberland City Council
This Strategic Masterplan outlines the project vision, principles, and design strategies for the Prospect Pipeline Corridor, establishing a framework in which to enable Council to engage with the local community, key stakeholders, to inform detailed design and feasibility studies, and to support funding applications. The vision for the Corridor is to enhance the established corridor in the west, whilst extending connections in the east utilising a portion of the water pipeline corridor, to provide recreational linkages for pedestrians and cyclists to nearby parklands and town centres.
Adventurous Spaces, A best practice guide for bringing roll and ride activities into public space – Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure
The Adventurous Spaces Guideline champions inclusive, engaging spaces. It navigates cost, land use, and community attitudes, offering invaluable research, inspiring case studies, and practical advice for creating skateparks, pump tracks, mountain bike trails, and dynamic skills parks. It embraces a ‘people, place, purpose’ approach to transforming overlooked, undervalued public spaces.
Tamworth Regional Aquatic Centre – Otium Planning Group with Tamworth Regional Council
The Tamworth Regional Aquatic Centre, incorporating the Northern Inland Centre of Sport and Health, will provide a regionally significant destination for sports, recreation, health, and leisure. This development aims to generate substantial health, social, wellbeing, and economic benefits for both the Tamworth community and the broader region. Through effective strategic planning, continuous stakeholder engagement, innovation, leveraging co-location opportunities, and comprehensive business case development, the project has successfully secured funding from all three levels of government.
