Play Area Development Policy for Local Government

The purpose of this paper is to provide some advice to Local Government to assist in the development of children’s play opportunities in local government public spaces. This paper aims to assist Council staff, Councillors and community members in the decision-making and planning processes involved in the provision of municipal open space systems for play and recreation; provide a rationale to assist in the reduction of ad-hoc decision-making, and create a systematic and more equitable approach to open space and facility provision. This paper takes the approach that open space planning, especially for children’s use, should be aimed at providing for: the wide range of every-day play needs of local children, (as well as the wider population) and at complementing the play opportunities available to them in their everyday lives.