Open space is Council-owned or managed public land used for outdoor recreation and enjoyment (i.e. leisure, sport, play, nature appreciation, social connection, and relaxation) that is accessible to the general public with no barrier to entry and free to use.

This includes parks, gardens, reserves, waterways, wetlands and linear trails.

The Greater Geelong Open Space Strategy will set the future direction for the planning, delivery and management of the City's open space network

This is a strategic reinvestment process to help achieve an equitable open space network where everyone has access to high-quality open space. It ensures our parks meet modern safety and quality open space standards.

A key action in the draft Strategy is to develop local acquisition and disposal plans based on the review of all open spaces. Community consultation will be undertaken on each local plan.

All funds from open space land sales are ‘quarantined’ for reinvestment back into our parks. This is outlined under the Subdivision Act 1988 - Public open space can be used for municipal purposes in accordance with the planning scheme, or sold only if the Council has provided replacement public open space.

By reviewing the entire network, the City can balance:

• Disposal: Identifying underperforming open spaces. These are poorly located, unsafe and undersized spaces which are not fit-for-purpose. These may be sold, or repurposed for other community use.

• Acquisition: Using the proceeds from sales to acquire land to provide open space in areas of under provision, expand on existing parks so they work better, or improving the quality of existing parks.

Council engaged a consultant to provide best-practice technical expertise to deliver the Strategy.

The Strategy was guided by research, data and community input during Stage 1 community engagement in 2025. It has been benchmarked against best practice open space planning principles.

We have mapped and analysed the network to understand what it looks like and where the gaps may be. From this, we developed opportunities and recommendations for each planning area, as well as City-wide strategic actions.

Your feedback will tell us what's important to you so we can finalise the strategy.

Feedback will be collated and an engagement report will be posted on this website.

Council has a range of roles in the planning, delivery and management of open space as outlined below:

• Policy and planning
• Design
• Delivery
• Funding
• Engagement
• Land management
• Operations
• Partnerships and advocacy
• Activation and stewardship

Absolutely! You can find the contact details under 'Contact Us'. You can call or email us to give your feedback and we'll put it on the online system for you. Alternatively, we can send you a hardcopy form of our online tool which we'll also transfer online.