National Park Plan of Management

Under the Local Government Act (1993) a Plan of Management is required for community land. Due to the size and use of National Park, this site has its own Plan of Management.  

The current National Park Plan of Management was adopted in 2012, however the Plan requires updating to reflect improvements since that time and guide future directions for the park's management, development and use. 

All areas of the site including the recently developed greenspace and basketball courts located near the north-western corner of National Park, along with the athletics track, netball courts, six sports fields including No. 1 and No. 2 Sportsgrounds, netball courts and playground are included in the scope of the plan.  

As part of the review of the Plan of Management, Gondwana Consulting will prepare a Landscape Masterplan for the northwest corner of the park which will provide future direction for the open space area between Parry and Smith Streets. 

Work is currently underway for an additional four basketball courts located adjoining the two existing basketball courts, adjacent to the Newcastle National Park Croquet Club. For further information refer to Council's media release here.

City of Newcastle has engaged Gondwana Consulting (who also developed the 2012 Plan of Management) to develop a revised Plan of Management for National Park.  

Gondwana Consulting will review the recommendations for National Park in the Strategic Sports Plan (SSP). The SSP was adopted by Council in December 2020.

Throughout the development of the Plan of Management, City of Newcastle will seek community feedback to ensure it meets the needs of the community.  
 
Phase 1 Engagement took place between 17 November and 7 December 2020. City of Newcastle invited community input into the process via survey, mapping tool and community drop-in sessions. Two key stakeholder workshops (invitation only) were held during this time to allow for targeted feedback. An engagement report has been prepared which summarises the issues raised by the community and key stakeholders, which can be viewed here.
 
Phase 2 Engagement will see the draft National Park Plan of Management placed on public exhibition for a period of 28 days, during which the community will be invited to provide input.  

There are many aspects of the National Park Plan of Management requiring futher consideration and investigation, including the north western corner and future of Wal Young House, the impact of works on Nos. 5 and 6 Sportsgrounds associated with the works at No. 1 Sportsground, stormwater and drainage issues, parking, cycling and amenity matters.

We hope to provide a further update in early 2022 in regards to an updated timeframe for public exhibition.

We are delivering a multi-million dollar major redevelopment which will see No. 1 Sportsground become equipped to host major cricket and AFL matches. The project commenced in September 2020 and No. 1 Sportsground is due to reopen in early 2022.