2016-09-06 P&E Committee - Attachment 1 to Item 6 - Noosa Parklands Park Management Plan

       Noosa Parklands Park Management Plan




     3.5 Recreation opportunities
     The park’s proximity to the centre of Tewantin and surrounding residential area provides
     significant opportunity for outdoor recreational opportunities and community engagement,
     especially for local residents. Protection of the park’s natural and cultural heritage values
     (Section 3.1 to 3.4) can provide benefits to the community by preserving ecosystem services,
     scenic amenity and enhancing catchment and cultural values. The park also links residents
     with surrounding recreation areas, including Tewantin National Park.

     The park has multiple recreational user types including bushwalkers, trail runners, nature
     observers, recreational cyclists and dog owners. It is also used more broadly for social
     gatherings. The park is designated as having a natural to semi-natural setting and therefore
     the following basic recreational facilities are provided to support these uses, and for other
     service requirements (Figure 4):
         •      picnic table and shelter
         •      dog on-leash and off-leash areas
         •      playgrounds and basketball court
         •      recreation trails and bridges
         •      regulatory and directional signage
         •      service tracks and fire trails
         •      gates to prevent access from unauthorised vehicles.

     The majority of this infrastructure, along with the mown open grassed areas, is located
     within the park’s recreational areas (Figure 4). To delineate between the recreational park
     and bushland reserve areas within the park, wooden bollards have been installed and
     native plants including matrush (Lomandra longifolia) have been planted along much of this
     interface. Matrush is a common native species used for edge planting in landscaped areas
     to demarcate zones, stabilise areas, limit access and therefore reduce the impact on natural
     waterbodies and regenerated areas. Council’s Park’s and Natural Areas team have an
     inspection and maintenance regime for the park’s infrastructure, including the playgrounds,
     basketball court and pathways (Appendix 8).

     In comparison with other parks in Noosa Shire, the park has relatively low visitation levels and
     current facilities are adequate for demand. However this plan proposes the development of
     a linking pathway at the southern end of Heritage Park, raising the height of some pathway
     sections due to occasional inundation, the provision of a bench seat at two of the playgrounds
     (one playground already has picnic tables), the provision of a netball hoop at the basketball
     court and installation of additional
     interpretative and directional
     signage at the main entry points
     to the park (see Figure 4). The
     development of this additional
     infrastructure is subject to Council’s
     shire wide priorities and budget
     deliberations. The remaining areas
     of the park are undeveloped and
     densely vegetated, and there is no
     new infrastructure planned for these
     areas.


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