The City of Ryde’s parks, open spaces and recreational facilities are important resources that are used and enjoyed by our community for a diversity of leisure-time pursuits.

We’d like to hear how you currently use these resources and your thoughts on how the network of parks and open spaces can be improved, managed and protected both now and into the future.

Council is reviewing our Integrated Open Space Plan which provides the overall framework for managing the City’s parks and open space resources (comprising a network of just over 200 parks and open spaces covering 351 hectares or 9% of the City’s total area).

The Plan is being updated to better reflect our City’s growing and changing population, diverse lifestyles and growing and changing sport and recreation needs, while also protecting and enhancing the biodiversity values of our natural areas.

The updated Plan will guide the work Council does and how the parks and open spaces in the City will be used and managed up to 2030 and beyond.

If you live, work, study or play in the City of Ryde, Council wants to hear from you! Your feedback will help Council understand our community's aspirations for, and use of, open space and recreation facilities, gardens, urban forests and other natural areas and inform where we prioritise improvements.

Frequently Asked Questions


The IOSP will provide the overarching guidance for the provision, operation and maintenance of the City’s parks and open space (including sports facilities, recreation and play areas, natural/conservation reserves, linear parks and foreshores) for at least the next 10 years.

More specifically, the IOSP will provide a framework for delivering accessible and high-quality parks and an open space network which facilitates and encourages active lifestyles, connected communities and healthy urban and natural environments.


Much has changed since the IOSP was adopted in 2012, including population growth and change, new and emerging sport and recreation participation trends, increasing financial constraints and a greater focus on climate change and environmental sustainability.

With these on-going changes, Council’s plans need to be regularly updated to ensure relevance to the needs of current and future residents and visitors who spend time or wish to spend time in the City of Ryde’s parks and open spaces.


The IOSP update will include two key phases of community consultation:

  • Stage 1: Data gathering phase (this consultation)
  • Stage 2: Public exhibition of the draft updated IOSP (in late 2024).

Your feedback in the Stage 1 community consultation (via the Open Space, Sport & Recreation Survey and/or submissions) together with feedback from the other Stage 1 consultation activities (telephone survey, focus groups, sports organisations survey and in-depth conversations with representatives of targeted populations) will help Council to identify the key priorities and actions for enhancing the City’s parks and open spaces and the associated recreation facilities.

Council will use the feedback from this Stage 1 community consultation to identify the guiding principles, strategies and priority actions that will form the basis for the updated IOSP.