Grange Planning Brain

title: Open Space Strategy Refresh council: ballarat state: vic category: strategy classification: MINOR status: in-progress last_compiled: 2026-05-31 source_docs:

  • 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf
  • 28 May 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf
  • council-plan-2025-2029.txt

Open Space Strategy Refresh

The Open Space Strategy Refresh is a council work program intended to update the policy basis for how Ballarat plans, funds, upgrades and protects parks, gardens and green spaces. It matters because the strategy sits between high-level Council Plan commitments, statutory planning referrals, developer open-space contributions, and the capital works program that upgrades neighbourhood parks and public reserves. (Source: council-plan-2025-2029.txt, p.17; Source: 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.144)

Background

The refresh is listed as a major initiative under the Council Plan goal for conserving heritage and enhancing natural, cultural and built assets. That goal includes a strategic objective to conserve, maintain and improve parks, gardens and green spaces for community enjoyment, quality of life and civic pride. (Source: council-plan-2025-2029.txt, p.17)

The Council Plan also links open space to growth-area planning: Ballarat seeks neighbourhoods where people can meet daily needs within a short walk, ride or bus trip and have access to parks, gardens and community facilities. (Source: council-plan-2025-2029.txt, p.18) The measurable planning indicator attached to this growth objective is an increased percentage of households with access to greenspace within 400 metres. (Source: council-plan-2025-2029.txt, p.18)

The 25 June 2025 agenda presented the Council Plan 2025-2029 for adoption, after broad engagement in November 2024, deliberative engagement in February and March 2025, and public exhibition from 25 April to 18 May 2025. (Source: 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.36) Council received 41 written submissions on the draft Council Plan, with themes including environment and climate impacts, housing, transport, personal safety, health and the CBD. (Source: 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.37)

Analysis

Policy Mechanism

The refresh is not just a parks document; it is the policy bridge between open-space standards, neighbourhood design, capital investment and subdivision outcomes. City Design is responsible for implementing the Ballarat Open Space Strategy and adopted masterplans through park, playground and reserve upgrades, streetscape projects, safer pedestrian crossings, links to schools, tracks and trails, and street tree planting. (Source: 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.144)

City Design also provides statutory planning referral advice on open space, urban and landscape design, street trees and vegetation matters, and supervises reserves delivered by developers in new estates. (Source: 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.144) This means the refreshed strategy is likely to affect both council-led capital works and private subdivision delivery, because it can shape what Council asks for when new estates provide reserves, landscape plans and local open-space assets. (Source: 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.144)

Delivery Status

The strongest evidence of current progress is the May 2025 quarterly performance report. It records the action to develop an Open Space Strategy as 60 percent complete for the 2024/25 year, with an economic assessment underway and a second round of community consultation planned once the draft Open Space Strategy is completed. (Source: 28 May 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.152)

The 2025/26 Annual Action Plan then lists “Commence a refresh of the Open Space Strategy” under the parks, gardens and green-spaces objective, with Development Facilitation as the responsible service. (Source: council-plan-2025-2029.txt, p.29) The 2025/26 Budget also lists “Refresh Open Space Strategy” as one of 37 major initiatives identified for the four-year budget period. (Source: 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.112)

There is a timing ambiguity in the available documents: the May performance report describes the Open Space Strategy as already 60 percent complete in 2024/25, while the Council Plan action list says the refresh will commence in 2025/26. (Source: 28 May 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.152; Source: council-plan-2025-2029.txt, p.29) The most practical reading is that technical preparation and economic assessment were underway before formal 2025/26 Council Plan delivery, but the supplied documents do not include the project brief or draft strategy needed to confirm staging. (Source: 28 May 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.152; Source: council-plan-2025-2029.txt, p.29)

Funding and Contributions

Open-space delivery is tied to restricted contribution funding. The 2025/26 Budget shows an Open Space Contributions reserve opening balance of 4.848 million, budgeted inflows of 800,000, and project drawdowns for Victoria Street Reserve, Yarana Drive Park, Kowree Crescent Reserve, Drummond Street North Reserve and Rizal Park, leaving a budgeted closing balance of $4.848 million at 30 June 2026. (Source: 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.192)

The Budget states that the Open Space Contributions reserve collects developer contributions for future parks and open-space upgrades, including playspaces, and identifies the Subdivision Act 1988 as the policy framework for open-space contributions. (Source: 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.192) This makes the refresh important for prioritisation: if contribution income is limited or spatially uneven, the strategy should help decide which neighbourhoods receive upgrades first and how new development areas meet the 400-metre greenspace access indicator. (Source: council-plan-2025-2029.txt, p.18; Source: 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.192)

There is also a revenue risk. The May 2025 budget review records a 400,000 reduction in Passive Open Space Developer Contributions and a 400,000 reduction in Open Space Improvement Fund Subdivider Contributions, with the note that slower development activity reduced open-space contributions. (Source: 28 May 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.103) If development activity remains slower than forecast, the refreshed strategy may need to sequence upgrades more tightly or identify alternative funding sources for priority gaps. (Source: 28 May 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.103)

Relationship to Capital Works

The 2025/26 capital works program includes 50,000 for the Open Space Investment Program, 400,000 for open-space park and signage works, 100,000 for street and park furniture renewal, and 150,000 for street irrigation within the Parks, Open Space and Streetscapes category. (Source: 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.195)

The quarterly capital works report shows that, at 31 March 2025, Parks, Open Space and Streetscapes had annual budgeted expenditure of 6.038 million and an annual forecast of 6.420 million, a 382,000 increase against budget. (Source: 28 May 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.92) That scale is materially larger than the specific 50,000 Open Space Investment Program line in the 2025/26 new capital works table, which indicates that open-space outcomes are delivered through multiple project lines rather than a single strategy-refresh budget. (Source: 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.195; Source: 28 May 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.92)

Planning Effects

The refresh should affect three practical planning decisions. First, it should define where open-space provision is inadequate against the Council Plan indicator for households within 400 metres of greenspace. (Source: council-plan-2025-2029.txt, p.18) Second, it should guide statutory referral advice on landscape plans, reserve design and vegetation matters in planning applications. (Source: 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.144) Third, it should support prioritisation of contribution-funded upgrades such as neighbourhood parks, playspaces and reserve improvements. (Source: 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.192)

The available sources do not provide the existing open-space hierarchy, reserve catchment mapping, current 400-metre access baseline, forecast population by neighbourhood, or proposed service standards. Without those inputs, the analysis cannot quantify which suburbs have the largest access gaps, which growth areas need new reserves, or how much land or capital funding is required to meet Council’s greenspace access indicator. (Source: council-plan-2025-2029.txt, p.18; Source: 28 May 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.152)

Current Status

As at the 28 May 2025 agenda, the Open Space Strategy work was reported as 60 percent complete, with an economic assessment underway and further community consultation to follow completion of the draft strategy. (Source: 28 May 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.152) As at the 25 June 2025 Council Plan and Budget material, the refresh was embedded in the 2025/26 Annual Action Plan and four-year Budget major initiatives list. (Source: council-plan-2025-2029.txt, p.29; Source: 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.112)

Dependencies

  • Blocks: A fully evidence-based prioritisation of neighbourhood park upgrades, open-space contribution spending and reserve delivery standards is limited until the refreshed strategy, economic assessment and consultation findings are available. (Source: 28 May 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.152; Source: 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.192)
  • Blocked by: The next visible step is completion of the draft Open Space Strategy, because the second round of community consultation is planned after the draft is completed. (Source: 28 May 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.152)
  • Informed by: The refresh is informed by an economic assessment that was underway by May 2025, but the assessment itself is not included in the supplied source set. (Source: 28 May 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.152)
  • Implements: The refresh implements Council Plan objectives for parks, gardens and green spaces, neighbourhood liveability, and household access to greenspace within 400 metres. (Source: council-plan-2025-2029.txt, p.17; Source: council-plan-2025-2029.txt, p.18)
  • Conflicts with: No direct policy conflict is identified in the supplied documents, but slower development activity has reduced open-space contribution income and may constrain the pace of contribution-funded delivery. (Source: 28 May 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.103)

No cross-jurisdictional open-space dependency is identified in the supplied documents. The available evidence is local to City of Ballarat Council Plan, Budget, capital works, statutory referrals and developer contribution mechanisms. (Source: council-plan-2025-2029.txt, p.17; Source: 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.144; Source: 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.192)

Gaps in This Analysis

This source set is thin for a strategy page. The primary Open Space Strategy, draft refresh, economic assessment, community consultation material, spatial gap analysis, reserve hierarchy, service standards, and implementation plan were not supplied. (Source: 28 May 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.152)

The most important gap is the economic assessment referenced in the May 2025 progress report, because it likely explains the cost, funding and prioritisation logic behind the refresh. (Source: 28 May 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.152) The second important gap is the draft Open Space Strategy, because consultation is planned only after that draft is complete and the draft would show proposed standards, maps and actions. (Source: 28 May 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.152)

Because those documents are missing, this page can identify the mechanism and current status of the refresh, but it cannot yet quantify suburb-level open-space deficits, capital cost requirements, reserve land needs, or the effect of the strategy on individual growth areas and planning applications. (Source: council-plan-2025-2029.txt, p.18; Source: 25 June 2025 Council Meeting Agenda with attachments.pdf, p.144)

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