Input sought for public open space review

Devonport City Council is reviewing its Public Open Space Strategy to identify spaces that the community love and value.

Devonport Mayor Annette Rockliff said a series of community consultation sessions this month would focus on finding out what the community loves about Devonport’s parks and reserves.

Cr Rockliff said the Public Open Space Strategy will be used to ensure the Devonport community has accessible, attractive and functional spaces to enjoy.

“Council wants to hear your ideas about how we can make the most of our open spaces, what you love, what should be retained and protected, and also what can be improved,” Cr Rockliff said.

“The community will be able to provide feedback via a survey and pop-up sessions in April 2022.

“I encourage people of all ages to come along to one of the pop-up sessions and create your vision for Devonport’s open spaces through a guided park design activity sharing what you love most.”

Cr Rockliff said an online survey would be available to the public via Council’s Speak Up Devonport webpage, or people could access a hard copy from Council’s Customer Service at level 2 of the paranaple centre.

She said QR codes are on display in the parks and reserves, so visitors have the option to take the online survey while they’re in that space.

“Devonport has a lot of open space and it’s time we looked at how the community resonates with these spaces and how they can be improved,” Cr Rockliff said.

“There are more than 40 parks and reserves throughout Devonport, and we want to ensure these spaces are catering to the needs of our community.

“Council will seek input from a wide range of stakeholders in our community and we look forward to seeing those results.”

Cr Rockliff said community feedback will be used to develop the Public Open Space Strategy, which will be available for the community to view and provide comment on before it is presented to Council in August.

Pop-up sessions:

• Thursday, 21 April, 1-4pm at the Mersey Bluff.
• Friday, 22 April, 11am-2pm at Miandetta Park.

Cr Rockliff said Council staff and community engagement consultants GHD would run the community pop-up sessions, which will also include refreshments for those taking part in the sessions.

She said community members are invited to share what they love about Devonport’s open space on social media using the hashtag #devonportopenspace.

The Public Open Space Strategy survey is available via Council’s Speak Up Devonport webpage at https://www.devonport.tas.gov.au/council/get-involved/speak-up-devonport/ ^[1], a hard copy can be downloaded from the website, or contact Council’s Customer Service team for a printed version at [email protected] ^[2] or call (03) 6424 0511. The survey will close at 5pm on Friday, 6 May 2022.