Open Space Acquisition Program
Council has developed an innovative and award-winning program to provide much needed local parkland for the community.
Since 2010, Council has been actively acquiring land and converting the land to new parks within proximity to medium and high-density residential areas. To date Council has created, or is in the process of creating, over 25,000sqm of new parks and civic spaces. Further planning is underway to identify future opportunities.
For its efforts Council has won numerous awards for the program:
- 2017 - Greater Sydney Commission Awards – Great Plan – Commendation for Activate Ku-ring-gai.
- 2017 - Parks & Leisure Australia National Awards - Excellence in Open Space Planning Award for Activate Ku-ring-gai.
- 2017 - NSW/ACT Regional Awards - Parks and Leisure Association - Open Space Planning Award for Activate Ku-ring-gai.
- 2014 - Planning Institute of Australia - Planning Award for the Ku-ring-gai Open Space Acquisition Program.
- 2014 - Parks and Leisure Association - Award for the Ku-ring-gai Open Space Acquisition Program.
- 2013 - Australian Institute of Landscape Architects - Open Space Planning Award for the Ku-ring-gai Open Space Acquisition Program.
Implementation status
Significant progress has been made since 2010 in terms of creating new parks; at this point in time, Council is halfway through the delivery program set out in the Ku-ring-gai Contributions Plan 2010. The Ku-ring-gai Local Strategic Planning Statement 2019 identifies areas and precincts with identified gaps in open space provision based on current population.
The diagram below on the left shows the Acquisition Priority Ranking Map (taken from Part 5 of the Open Space Acquisition Strategy), the map shows the areas of highest priority in reds and oranges; these areas represent the locations with greatest population growth and lowest number of local parks from 2006.
On the right is a modified Priority Ranking Map (2021) showing locations of new parks delivered or committed to by Council over the last 15 years since adoption of the Strategy. The diagram shows significant progress by Council, since 2006, in terms of increasing resident's access to high quality open space.
Please note: Click on the below map for larger version.
(PDF, 5MB)
The diagram shows the implementation status of the Open Space Acquisition Program as of June 2023.
Please note: Click on the below map for larger version.
Click below to find out more about completed, proposed and future parks.
Currently there are no parks under construction.
New parks currently in the planning, design or acquisition phase include:
Bedes Forest Reserve Extension, St Ives
Council adopted a concept plan for the park in 2022 and is currently finalising construction drawings for this new park on the corner of Yarabah Avenue and Stanley Street, St Ives. The park will be almost 8,000 square metres in area, once completed, and will provide a diversity of activity areas including open grass, a playground, basketball facilities, a community garden, as well as an extensive nature play area.
Lindfield Village Hub Park, Lindfield
A proposed civic space on the western side of Lindfield with a total area of 3,900 square metres that will form a key part of the Lindfield Village Hub. The new park will be an urban park with a formal character, open grass and paved areas enclosed by perimeter gardens and shade trees. The park will be a venue for a wide range of community events and activities.
Dumaresq Street Park, Gordon
Council is proposing a temporary park on a former house site at the rear of council chambers. The park will be about 1,500sqm in area and include basic amenities such as grass areas, seating and landscaping. A concept plan was publicly exhibited in mid-2024 and construction is expected to commence in late 2024. The park is a temporary use of the land until such time as Council develops and implements longer term plans for the Gordon Civic Hub project.
New parklands opened to the public include:
Lindfield Village Green
The Lindfield Village Green is a new civic space located on a former council car park at 8-10 Tryon Road, Lindfield. The park has an area of about 2,700 square metres and is located on top of a new three level basement public car park. The new park offers areas with shaded seating and grass, a water feature, vine clad gazebos, and an outdoor café. The park was opened to the public in February 2022.
Boyds Orchard Park, Turramurra
Boyds Orchard Park is located on the corner of Allan Avenue and Duff Street, Turramurra and has a total area of about 2,700 square metres. The land was acquired by Council over a period of 7 years between 2008 & 2015. Boyds Orchard Park was opened to the public in March 2020.
Cameron Park, Turramurra
In 2011 Council acquired four properties adjoining Cameron Park on Gilroy Road, Turramurra to extend the existing park by 2,600 square metres. The expanded Cameron Park was opened to the public in 2017.
Lapwing Reserve, St Ives
In 2013, Council acquired two properties with a total area of 1,900 square metres adjoining an existing unimproved Council reserve. The new park opened to the public in 2017 and is almost 3,000 square metres in size.
Curtilage Park, Warrawee
Curtilage Park is located at 1536 Pacific Highway, Warrawee. The park is about 2,000 square metres in size and was opened to the public in 2014.
Greengate Park, Killara
Greengate Park is located on Bruce Avenue, Killara and has a total area of about 2,600 square metres. Council acquired three properties in 2010 and the park was opened to the public in December 2013.
Balcombe Park, Wahroonga
Balcombe Park is located at 12 Woonona Avenue, Wahroonga. Council acquired the 900 square metre property in 2009 and the park was opened to the public in 2013.
Council is currently undertaking detailed analysis of potential locations for new parks around the local centres of Gordon, Pymble and Roseville.