by Shane Sody

Two documents released in June make it clear that your Park Lands will soon be hosting more, and larger sports buildings.

The Council budget

The Council's 2024-25 annual budget was adopted on 25 June.

Last month, you were offered the opportunity to make some comments on the budget while it was still in draft form. We took up that opportunity. Back in May, the Adelaide Park Lands Association made a formal submission to the City Council on its Draft Budget (PDF, 3 pages, 176 Kb) and urged Park Lands supporters to do the same.

However, the final budget adopted on 25 June 2024 did not resolve the ambiguities that we identified in our submission. For example, it’s impossible to tell, from the Council’s 2024-25 budget, what sort of facilities will be provided with funding of more than $2 million to “upgrade sports clubrooms” such as these:

Management Strategy - towards 2036

Overlapping the City Council’s budget process is a separate period of community consultation on a proposed new Park Lands Management Strategy - “Towards 2036”.

Kadaltilla / Park Lands Authority has released an 86-page draft document, characterised as “a long-term vision for our city’s open space.” Producing this Strategy and updating it every five years is one of the main tasks that the Park Lands Authority is required by law, to carry out.

Public comment is invited by 9 August.

https://www.cityofadelaide.com.au/community/get-involved/consultation-aplms-towards-2036/

The Adelaide Park Lands Association will be studying the document carefully and will respond to the City Council. We will share our considered response with you, on our website blog and newsletter, by mid-July.

In the meantime, Park Lands advocate and author John Bridgland has already released an analysis (PDF, 4 pages, 2.5 Mb) which characterises the Strategy as “hollow in the middle” with “significant areas of ambiguity that fog its contents”.

Despite its ambiguities, the Draft Park Lands Management Strategy is consistent with the Council’s 2024-25 budget, insofar as it envisages increased public and private investment in expanded Park Lands sports facilities, on what are expected to be new, long lease periods. It also envisages more car parks on Park Lands for “multiple uses” such as market stalls, events, and community sport.

Park Lands maintenance

City Council ratepayers provide the lion’s share of funding to maintain the National Heritage treasure that is your Adelaide Park Lands.

That is a huge expense for ratepayers. The Council's budget includes $22.9 million for Park Lands and open space maintenance. Neither the State Government, nor the Federal Government help maintain the estimated 80% of the Park Lands that are under City Council control.

The Council’s expenditure includes the various horticulture teams, like the ones who look after the six Squares of your Park Lands:

What’s not in the Council Budget

Despite our submission of 19 May on the City Council budget, it’s not possible to ascertain, from the Council’s final budget decision taken on 25 June:

• whether ramps and stairs will be provided as a priority, to improve public access within Helen Mayo Park; or

• whether funds will be allocated for removing bitumen in Park 22, so that APA can commence a long-delayed re-greening project,

A specific request from APA did not make it into the final budget. No funding was allocated for the long-delayed feasibility study for the proposed Adelaide Recreation Circuit.

Park Lands Art Prize

In its 2024-25 budget, the City Council’s sponsorship of the biennial Adelaide Park Lands Art Prize remained capped at $15,000. Although we had urged a higher amount this year, we will be very grateful to receive this funding, to put towards the artist’s prize pool.

You can make a tax-deductible donation to the Adelaide Park Lands Art Prize through the Australian Cultural Fund. See donation and sponsorship opportunities here: https://parklandsart.org/support-the-art-prize/