Lismore City Council is responsible for our public parks and playgrounds in the Lismore local government area. As part of our commitments in the Lismore City Council Delivery Plan 2025 – 2029 and the Open Space Strategy 2024 – 2034, we aim to elevate play spaces and ensure they align with community needs and the play hierarchy (see the Open Spaces Strategy 2024 – 2034). This commitment to managing our parks and assets, ensures financial sustainability while enhancing the long-term value for everyone.
As part of our forward works program, Council staff have recently undertaken an audit of our local and neighbourhood parks. This audit identified a number of parks that require renewal, with preliminary assessment determining the scope of works required. When assessing parks, staff considered:
The Parks Renewal Program will commence in June 2025. Council will connect with community – listen and engage – to create quality recreational spaces.
In alignment with the 2025 – 2026 Budget, the following locations have received budget allocation for renewal.
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The program will be rolled out over 10 years. The number of parks completed in any given year will depend on budget allocations.
The central focus of our program is to elevate our play spaces in alignment with community needs and the Open Spaces hierarchy. Valued local and neighbourhood parks will be upgraded with new and diverse play elements to deliver quality recreational spaces. Doing this improves the overall health and wellbeing of our communities, whilst ensuring Council uses resources wisely.
The program will benefit everyone. We want everyone to be able to use our parks, whether that is using the equipment, having a picnic or reading a book in the open space. Our parks are for everyone to enjoy.
The program intends to align the parks and playgrounds around the Local Government Area (LGA) with Council’s Open Spaces Strategy 2024 – 2034. In doing so, this allows Council to allocate resources in a more effective manner. By reducing the number of underperforming park assets, we are able to improve the quality of other parks within our LGA.
The realignment of our parks does mean that some park assets are being removed. Rest assured we will continue to maintain the open spaces under our service agreements. For more information on our maintenance schedule, please visit the Lismore City Council maintenance schedule for mowing webpage.
Local parks are the smallest park listed on the Open Spaces Strategy. Council’s Strategy defines a local park as a facility with a catchment of 400m walking radius. These parks are intended for shorter stays of 20 minutes and have approximately five play elements. Some examples of our local parks are Sunrise Park, Tamarind Park and Weston Park.
Neighbourhood parks are larger than local parks and service a larger radius. Council’s Strategy defines a neighbourhood park as a facility with a catchment of 2km walking radius. Expected stays at these parks range for 30 – 45 minutes and will include approximately 10 play elements. Examples of our neighbourhood parks include Elders Park, Greenhills Park and Captain Rous Park.
District parks are the next level of park in our Open Spaces Strategy. The are defined as a facility with a catchment area of 10km driving radius. Visits to the parks will generally last longer than one hour, with approximately 15 play elements, shade, toilets, BBQ area and drinking station. Examples of district parks include Kadina Park, Nesbitt Park and Wade Park.
Regional Parks are destination parks that people will travel to visit. They are the largest parks that Council manages. Our Open Spaces Strategy defines these as a facility with a catchment of more than a 10km driving radius. Stays at these parks could last longer than two hours. Users can expect a multitude of play options for all ages, as well as shade, toilets, a BBQ area and a drinking station. A regional park in the LGA is Heritage Park. The future development of the Wade Park Masterplan would see it upgraded to a Regional Park.