The City of Adelaide is being urged to become more ambitious with proposals to restore lost areas of your Park Lands.

Like all local governments, the City Council is required to have a "Strategic Plan" covering a period of at least four years.

The Council is currently going through a process of community consultation to develop a new Strategic Plan to cover the years 2024 to 2028.

This Strategic Plan covers all the City and North Adelaide - not just your Park Lands.

Confusingly, there is also an entirely separate Strategic Management Plan required solely for your Park Lands, and a draft of that document will also be released for public consultation in coming months.

Nevertheless, the City's Draft Strategic Plan 2024-2028 contains some references to your Park Lands, including broad, ambiguous phrases such as: "Protect, enhance, and activate our Park Lands and open space".

Here are the specific references to your Park Lands in the current draft of the City’s new Strategic Plan.

Although it's suggested that Council would "work with partners … to create or convert underutilised areas to green space" this stops short of an ambition to restore any lost areas of your Park Lands.

There has been a lack of Council commitment over the past three years to any re-greening initiatives from the Adelaide Park Lands Association. Therefore, this section of the Strategic Plan should be strengthened.

We'll recommended re-wording this section (or including an additional item) to read:

• "Work with or empower community groups to restore hard-surface areas of the Park Lands to Open, Green, Public."

We also question the use of the word "productivity" in reference to your Park Lands. Your Open, Green, Public Park Lands are certainly productive in terms of public health, but the ambiguity of the word "productivity" could see this sentence used as justification for increased private commercialisation of your Park Lands.

Under the heading "Indicators of success" the Strategic Plan suggests "Achieve World Heritage Listing".

This would be very welcome, if it could be achieved. However a more modest goal, of achieving State Heritage listing, has been omitted.

Five years ago, the State Heritage Council recommended that your Park Lands be granted State Heritage status, but successive State Governments have failed to act on this recommendation.

The City Council should adopt, in its Strategic Plan, an action to step up advocacy for State Heritage listing.

You can comment on the Draft Strategic Plan at this City Council web page: https://yoursay.cityofadelaide.com.au/draft-strategic-plan-2024-2028

There are in-person information sessions on the Council’s Strategic Plan at the following times:

• Wednesday 8 November 10am- 12pm Hutt Street Library 235 Hutt Street Adelaide

• Thursday 9 November 11am – 1pm Jerningham St, North Adelaide (close to Melbourne Street corner)

• Tuesday 14 November 10am – 12pm City of Adelaide Customer Centre 25 Pirie Street Adelaide

• Wednesday 15 November 12pm – 2pm City of Adelaide Customer Centre 25 Pirie Street Adelaide

• Thursday 16 November 2.30pm – 4.30pm at the Minor Works Building, 22 Stamford Court, Adelaide.

Consultation Closes – 9:00am Monday 20 November 2023.

More details here: https://yoursay.cityofadelaide.com.au/draft-strategic-plan-2024-2028