by Shane Sody

The City Council's draft budget for 2024-25 has some money allocated for long-awaited Park Lands restoration, but has stopped short of making specific commitments.

The City is seeking feedback on its 2024-25 Draft Budget and Annual Business Plan.

There are a number of significant Park Lands investments signalled in the City of Adelaide’s 2024-25 Draft Budget and Annual Business Plan.

The issued document is a “draft”, and therefore might yet be altered before Council makes its final decision in June or July. But among the most significant allocations for your Park Lands are:

$22.89 million for Park Lands maintenance

No one should overlook the enormous contribution made by City Council ratepayers, year after year to the ongoing work of maintaining your Park Lands.

Sport buildings ambiguities?

Page 18 of the City of Adelaide’s 2024-25 Draft Budget and Annual Business Plan includes, as a proposed “Outcome”:

“The status, attributes and character of our green spaces and the Park Lands are protected and strengthened.”

However some of the proposed spending initiatives leave room for doubt about the fate of contested areas of your Open, Green Public Park Lands.

The document suggests that in 2024-25 the Council would be: “Committing 1.5% of our rate income to upgrading Park Lands Buildings”

It’s been long acknowledged that some of the sports buildings in your Park Lands need upgrading, not least due to higher levels of sport participation, especially by women and girls.

However there is some uncertainty in this proposal, especially about the extent to which “upgraded” sports buildings might allow or encourage clubs to have larger, private, corporate-type facilities, meeting rooms, bars etc on your Park Lands.

A recent Council draft policy on sports buildings failed to even acknowledge within the policy that there is a public interest in “free and unrestricted access to and use of the Park Lands”.

The draft budget and business plan has no detail about the size, features or type of “upgraded” buildings that the Council might choose to fund.

Helen Mayo Park delay

The City Council’s draft budget and business plan includes, at page 18:

“Partnering with the State Government undertake a Master Plan for Helen Mayo Park, to improve community access.”

Less than two months ago, Council work crews removed a decades-old fence that had been dividing your Helen Mayo Park.

There is now no obstacle in between the shared use pathway along the river, and this picnic area near the Riverside Rowing Club.

However, you would need mountaineering skills to scramble up or down a steep slope. There is a clear need to install stairs or a ramp to unite the higher and lower sections of Helen Mayo Park.

This access could be provided sooner rather than later; without waiting for the State Government to consider (and/or co-fund?) any proposed “Master Plan” for Helen Mayo Park.

The State Government still has not honoured a 2022 election promise to restore full protection to Helen Mayo Park.

Re-greening ambiguity

The City Council’s draft budget and business plan includes, at page 18:

”Work with partners to create innovative ways to create or convert underutilised areas to green space.”

On page 73 of the draft budget, $1.7m has been tentatively earmarked for what/s described as “Public Realm Greening Program”.

APA has been thwarted in repeated attempts to get City Council approval for a re-greening project in your Park Lands.

We hope that the ambiguity in this budget line will be resolved in favour of at least one project to remove unused bitumen surfaces.

We have in mind these former netball courts in Josie Agius Park / Wikaparntu Wirra (Park 22) which have not been used for netball in decades.

We hope that at least part of that $1.7 million budget line will be for removing the 1,600 square metres of bitumen at this location.

If the Council can fund the removal of the bitumen, it should then, hopefully, allow the Adelaide Park Lands Association to co-ordinate, with others, a re-greening project here.

Another missed opportunity

Each year before the City Council’s budget is finalised, we always urge the Council to fund a feasibility study into the popular concept of the Adelaide Recreation Circuit, an unbroken, illuminated, walking-running-cycling trail around your Park Lands.

This concept has the potential to be a world-class tourist attraction. However, once again in 2024-25, this seems to have been overlooked in the City’s draft budget.

Have your say

You can comment on the Adelaide City Draft Budget and Business Plan here: https://yoursay.cityofadelaide.com.au/draft-2024-25-business-plan-and-budget