Woodstock Road Shops and Douglass Avenue Reserve

No shade sails are planned for this playground. however several trees have been proposed in the draft concept plan to provide shade from the northern and western sun.

No fence will be provided. Any money spent on fencing would be subtracted from the overall budget which would mean less money for playground equipment. Fences are therefore only included in local playgrounds when necessary.

The playground upgrade will not require the removal of any trees. The tree canopy is comprised of critically endangered Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest which Council will retain and protect.

No water play is planned for this playground as it is only to be installed in specially considered locations and is too expensive to install and maintain under a Local Playground budget.

No trampolines or flying foxes are planned for this playground as these items are too expensive to be funded under a Local Playground budget.

Outdoor exercise equipment is not designed for children and cannot be included in playgrounds. The budget has been specifically allocated to upgrade the playground and does not allow for additional items in the park.

Yes, the playground will include two new seats with backrests.

No bin or bubbler are planned to be installed as part of this upgrade.

The play surface around the play equipment will be made from a coloured porous rubber.

A range of comments were provided from community members, with most people wanting a greater variety of shopping options at Woodstock Shops, with improved accessibility and the need for greater vibrancy, key themes that came through.

In relation to Douglass Park Reserve, community members are looking for increased useability of the park with a strong desire for the provision of more sports and exercise options, as well as a greater variety of improved family friendly facilities.

Council also sought your input on preferred playground themes for Douglass Avenue Reserve. Six options were presented, the results of which are provided below.

The Better Neighbourhood Program (BNP) is a long-running and successful Council program that focuses on the capital upgrades of local centres outside of the Parramatta CBD. The BNP commenced in 1999 and delivers improvements to centres with the goal of enhancing safety, vitality and economic prosperity.

Between 2011 and 2019, Council invested $11,761,333 in BNP projects, which consisted primarily of:

• Capital upgrades to local, town and neighbourhood centres. Examples of projects delivered include streetscape upgrades at Carmen Drive, Ventura Road, The Chisholm Centre, Carlingford and Lawndale Road Shops.
• Connecting Centres projects to improve access to local centres and neighbourhoods.
• Complementary public domain improvements.

A total of $3,200,000 has been allocated to the BNP over the next two financial years. This includes $620,000 in FY 2019/20 and $2,580,000 in FY 2020/21. The funding allocation is larger in the second year to allow for detailed design and construction processes to be completed in FY 2020/21.

Click the link below to learn more.

https://www.cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/sites/council/files/inline-files/centres-review-woodstock-road-shops.pdf

It is important to note that the tree canopy in the reserve comprises Critically Endangered Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest that is protected under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. An upgraded playground would need to ensure there are no encroachments into the tree protection and structural root zones of any significant trees. This is to guarantee the potential impacts are minimised.