The City of Ryde is undertaking a five‑year review of our Children’s Play Plan to ensure it continues to meet the needs of current and future local families. We also want to ensure that the Plan supports safe, inclusive, and engaging play opportunities across our community.

We are updating the Plan to reflect current best practice in play and to ensure that our park play spaces are renewed and upgraded for the growing and changing population. This includes responding to the play needs of residents in higher‑density precincts, where access to private green space for recreation and play may be more limited.

We also want our play spaces to reflect the full range of community needs and preferences for types of play (e.g. nature play, water play, etc.) and the features that support enjoyable family play experiences within a financially sustainable framework.

We invite our community to share their feedback and help shape a refreshed Play Plan that supports the health, wellbeing, and development of children and young people now and into the future.

Park Play Spaces include

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  • Playgrounds

    Playgrounds provide a variety of equipment and play opportunities for children of different ages and abilities.

  • Skate, scoot and wheels

    These areas are designed for active play using wheeled equipment such as skateboards, scooters and rollerblades.

  • Water Play

    Water play areas use interactive water features, such as sprays, jets and shallow channels, to encourage children to play, explore and cool off through active, sensory experiences.

  • Nature Play

    Nature play areas use natural materials, like logs, rocks, sand and planting, to encourage and allow children to engage with the natural environment in imaginative ways.

  • Youth Spaces

    These spaces may include multipurpose courts, small skate elements, parkour features or open spaces that support informal recreation and social activity.

  • Inclusive Play

    Inclusive play spaces are designed so that children and families of all abilities can participate together. Features may include accessible pathways, sensory elements, supportive seating, and equipment that accommodates mobility and sensory needs.

  • Sports & Active Recreation

    These may include courts, fitness equipment, kick‑about areas and open grass perfect for group activities.

Park play spaces have an important role in supporting the development and wellbeing of children and young people, while strengthening connections to their local community.

As our community changes, children and young people play in different ways, and families’ expectations of park play spaces also change. A refreshed Children’s Play Plan will help ensure our spaces respond to changing demographics, evolving play trends, and current safety and accessibility standards.

The updated plan will provide a clear direction for how play spaces are planned, designed, and improved over the next five years.

While many of our play spaces are well loved and well used, others would benefit from renewal or redesign to better reflect community needs today. This strategy will help us to:

  • Create play spaces that support different ages, abilities, and styles of play
  • Guide consistent and thoughtful planning across the area
  • Ensure park play spaces are welcoming and enjoyable for all
  • Improve inclusion by designing spaces that are accessible for people with disabilities and diverse needs

The updated Children’s Play Plan will guide the future planning, design, and improvement of park play spaces across the City of Ryde. It will provide a clear and consistent approach to our spaces over the next five years.

The Plan will include:

  • An assessment of current trends in play space design and play experiences
  • A hierarchy that defines different types of park play spaces (i.e. local, neighbourhood, district, or regional)
  • Park play space design principles and a guiding framework
  • Recommendations to improve the distribution, accessibility, design, and suitability of park play spaces
  • A future works program that identifies priority upgrades and improvements

Playgrounds vary in size, features, and purpose, and generally fall into the following categories:

  • Destination playgrounds
    These are larger park play spaces designed to attract families from across the City of Ryde and visitors from outside the area. They offer a wide variety of play experiences and are supported by facilities such as toilets, seating, and car parking. People often travel to these playgrounds by car or public transport and stay for longer visits. Destination playgrounds include regional playgrounds such as Meadowbank Park and district playgrounds such as Eastwood Park.
  • Everyday playgrounds
    These are smaller, local park play spaces designed for frequent, casual use. They are easily accessible, usually within walking distance of homes, and provide simple play opportunities for children and families as part of everyday life. Everyday playgrounds include neighbourhood playgrounds such as Granny Smith Memorial Park and local playgrounds such as Adventure Park.

To view all of Council’s playgrounds, visit our Playgrounds webpage.

Have Your Say

Online Survey

Child smiling on play equipment

Show us your dream playground

  • Download activity sheet

    Download and print the activity sheet where you can design your dream playground.

    Download and print 

Instructions

  1. Download and print the activity sheet where you can draw and describe your dream playground
  2. Once you've completed the activity sheet, click the 'Upload your dream playground' button below
  3. Click on the Photo tab
  4. You will then be prompted to upload a photo of the activity sheet - be sure to take a photo of the whole sheet
  5. Give the dream playground a title and write in the submission box 'what you love most about your dream playground'
  6. Click submit to upload

Drop-in Sessions

How else can I provide feedback?

Personal information collected from you is held and used by Council under the provisions of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998. The supply of information is voluntary, however if you cannot provide, or do not wish to provide the information sought, Council may be unable to consider your submission. Please note that the exchange of information between the public and Council, may be accessed by others and could be made publicly available under the Government Information Public Access Act 2009 (GIPA Act). If you require further information please contact Council’s Customer Service Centre on 9952 8222. Any written feedback provided may also be made publicly available as is (verbatim comments) in the reporting process. Your feedback may be passed onto relevant external consultants for the purpose of reporting on the engagement outcomes and finalising the Plan.