Community provides input on open space maintenance

Published on 24 April 2020

Community feedback will contribute to updated open space maintenance standards for Baw Baw Shire.

Council sought feedback earlier this year to understand the level of community satisfaction with the current standards and find areas for improvement.

Open space maintenance activities include grass mowing, path edging, garden beds, mulching, weed control and tree maintenance.

The survey results revealed an average rating of 3.36 out of 5 for Council’s open space areas, which include public parks and gardens, landscaped areas, streetscapes, sports fields and bushland reserves.

Weed control was identified as the top area for improvement, with 76.92 per cent of respondents suggesting that further work could be done.

69.49 per cent of respondents rated trees as the feature they most enjoy in Baw Baw’s open space areas, followed by gardens at 45.76 per cent and playground equipment at 27.12 per cent.

Overall, most respondents considered the delivery of open space maintenance to be a high priority for Council with an average score of 3.45 out of 5.

Council currently maintains 108 parks, 103 playgrounds and 11 sports fields across the Shire. All maintenance activities are guided by the standards, with the latest version being adopted by Council 2015.

The revised standards will be presented to Council later in the year for feedback and endorsement.

Quotes attributable to Mayor Cr Danny Goss

“Our many parks and gardens are one of the best things about living in Baw Baw Shire, and we want to make sure that our maintenance standards meet the expectations of the community. This feedback has helped us to gauge the community’s views on the current standards and find ways to improve while balancing resourcing and value for money. Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide their views.”