Have your say on St Johns Park’s inclusive improvements

Council is applying for a grant of up to $500,000 from the Australian Government, to make St Johns Park (Blaxland) more inclusive.

The community is encouraged to provide their thoughts and ideas on how Council can make the park more accessible, and the play area more inviting and inclusive. 

Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill said: “We know parks are important to our community and we are always looking for opportunities to improve these spaces.

“The St Johns Park project is focussing on inclusive improvements, so we can make the park better and more accessible for everyone.

“‘Inclusive’ doesn’t mean we’ll provide one thing for people with additional needs, and one for everyone else – it means everything can be used by everyone. And these improvements will be about more than just play equipment, it will be about the whole experience. 

“The improvements for this space was an election promise, so we’re confident that the grant will be successful and we’ll be able to enact the improvements later this year.”

This grant will enable improvements that will actively involve more children with additional needs being able to play in the space. 

Council manages 105 parks and 56 formal playgrounds across the Blue Mountains. Not every park and playground is the same. We have different kinds of parks and playgrounds, which people use differently, and need different equipment and management.

St Johns Park is one of five local parks in the Blue Mountains. Local parks are designed to cater for a larger part of the community, usually several suburbs or towns. In addition to the different types and levels of parks, Council provides a range of different play types across our playgrounds and parks, to ensure there is something to suit children’s diverse needs and ages.

The community can provide their input through the online survey, which is open until Friday 13 March. There will also be a pop up event at St Johns Park to discuss park needs and draft designs on Sunday 8 March from 11am-2pm.

Details about the project and the survey are available on Council’s Have your say website.

Get more information about our parks and playgrounds.

Photo caption: St Johns Park, Blaxland