Playgrounds Strategy City of Norwood Payneham and St Peters, SA

The Playgrounds Strategy will provide a longer term strategic direction for the future provision and management of playgrounds in the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters. It will assist Council to plan for innovative and diverse playgrounds and provide a framework for future priorities and actions. A consultative and ‘field based’ approach has been adopted in developing the Playgrounds Strategy. Children, parents, carers and Council staff have been consulted and a detailed analysis of existing playgrounds and playground distribution has been undertaken. In addition, research on innovations and good practice has been undertaken and consideration has been given to broader planning principles and community expectations. The directions in the Playgrounds Strategy reflect the consultation, site analysis findings and research undertaken in the study.
The City has a large number of playgrounds compared to the number of children in the local government area, i.e. 27 Council playgrounds, which represents one playground for every one hundred and fifteen (115) 0-9 year olds. Whilst this may appear to be an over supply, it is not recommended that the number of playgrounds is decreased for the following reasons:
~Ac^A-^Aa The playgrounds contribute to the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters being a quality place for families to live. The high level of playground and park provision differentiates the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters from other local government areas.
~Ac^A-^Aa Although there is not a large number of children across the local government area, there is: – A large proportion of young adults, who could have children in the future. – A large proportion of older people, who could care for grandchildren and subsequently use parks with playgrounds.
Generally, the existing playgrounds are in good condition, although some are not well located and there is a lack of innovation in most playgrounds. Although the playgrounds are well maintained, there are some issues relating to the design of playgrounds and risk management including trees, dogs, fencing and safety. In addition, there are some gaps in provision, i.e. where there are few playgrounds and larger numbers of children, and the majority of playgrounds cater for the 5-9 year age group. Very young children and older children are less well catered for. Overall, there is potential to improve the existing playground provision and in particular, create greater diversity and innovation in providing play opportunities.