The Open Space Plan 2013 will assist Council to make strategic decisions relating to the future provision, development and management of open space in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. The Open Space Plan 2013 replaces Council’s Open Space Plan 2006. The Open Space Plan 2013 includes three reports as follows: Report 1: Background Report Report; 2: The Strategy (this report); and Report 3: Open Space Guidelines.
This Strategy Report includes directions, strategies and actions relating to six ‘Themes of importance’. Collectively the Themes address all key issues and opportunities associated with open space in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. The strategies and actions in the Strategy Report include a number of projects that will be considered in Council’s 10 Year Works Plan as funds become available and in accordance with other Council priorities. Whilst the Open Space Plan 2013 does not commit Council, the State Government or any other body to undertaking projects, it will guide Council priorities and support grant funding applications as appropriate.
The Open Space Guidelines provide a framework for the development, design and management of open space and will assist Council to negotiate an appropriate provision of open space in future new development areas.
The Background Report provides information and analysis that substantiates the directions, strategies and actions and projects in the Strategy Report. The Background Report considers the status of the Open Space Plan 2006, summarises the findings of previous studies, and draws together demand and supply findings.
The City of Port Adelaide Enfield has 684.74ha of open space which, as at 2011, represents 6.07ha per 1,000 people. Whilst this is a relatively good provision, 202.77ha of the open space is wetland or drainage and the open space that is more usable (recreation, sport, linear, coastal) only represents 3.64 ha per 1,000 people (which is still considered to be adequate) although some suburbs are lacking open space. This highlights the importance of retaining most existing open space and in some instances there could be justification for land acquisition. Council could also advocate to the State Government for the retention of government owned land for public use where appropriate. The City is anticipated to have a relatively large population of 124,000 people by 2016 and young people, children and families are increasing. In addition, the population is multi-cultural. This justifies a focus on family oriented and culturally based open spaces and facilities. Additionally, a number of areas in the City are represented by a lower socio-economic demographic that tends to correlate with poorer health outcomes and 30.6% of the population indicated that they were living alone. These characteristics highlight the importance of providing accessible and affordable open spaces and related activity opportunities to support social interaction and encourage physical activity. Through various recent surveys the community has indicated that open space is extremely important to them. The use of parks, beaches and sportsgrounds for recreation is high and people have indicated particular demand for play spaces, open areas for casual sport, walking and bike tracks, places to walk dogs and spaces to gather and celebrate cultural heritage. There is potential to improve the quality of open spaces and the provision of activity opportunities in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. The community would particularly benefit from enhancements to coastal, recreation and sporting open spaces and open spaces. Increased activity opportunities should be considered for older children and youth. Natural areas are limited in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and this highlights the need to strengthen biodiversity in parks and reserves and protect the existing natural areas.