{"id":207676,"date":"2018-05-03T02:59:32","date_gmt":"2018-05-02T16:59:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=207676"},"modified":"2020-08-04T12:36:17","modified_gmt":"2020-08-04T02:36:17","slug":"parks-plan-changes-can-be-made","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2018\/05\/03\/parks-plan-changes-can-be-made\/","title":{"rendered":"Parks Plan: ‘Changes Can Be Made’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell has moved to quell disquiet over a proposed 10-year Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Plan that recommends rationalising some of the region’s parks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

May 2, 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Burnett Mayor Keith Campbell has clarified the process that Council plans to use to gather public input on its 10-year Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Plan.<\/p>\n

The draft plan, released on Monday, suggests\u00a0the “rationalisation” of a number of the South Burnett’s parks and sporting facilities.<\/p>\n

News about the plan’s recommendations provoked widespread anger on social media.<\/p>\n

A statement from Council said that one-on-one consultations to discuss the plan would be held in Kingaroy, Nanango, Murgon, Wondai, Blackbutt and Proston between May 20-22.<\/p>\n

Times and venues are yet to be announced.<\/p>\n

Mayor Campbell said he hoped people would bear in mind the plan was a draft and changes could be made to it before a final version was adopted.<\/strong><\/p>\n

While the report recommended particular parks and facilities should be downgraded or eliminated, these were open to debate.<\/p>\n

The Mayor said he did not agree with several recommendations himself, including the proposal to remove playground equipment from Apex Park in Kumbia.<\/p>\n

He said he was aware Deputy Mayor Kathy Duff and Cr Ros Heit had also expressed their opposition to a number of the report’s recommendations.<\/p>\n

The Mayor said the reason the Council would hold one-on-one consultations rather than public meetings was that some groups had strong attachments to particular parks or sports facilities, and this would make a public meeting unmanageable.<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, those groups were very welcome to come to one-on-one meetings to discuss a park or facility they had an interest in, and he encouraged them to do so.<\/p>\n

The Mayor said the cost of assembling the draft plan was mostly paid for by the State Government.<\/p>\n

North Burnett Regional Council\u00a0received a $100,000 grant last May to develop a combined sport and recreation facilities plan for the South Burnett, Cherbourg and North Burnett council areas.<\/p>\n

The three councils also contributed towards the project’s $133,400 total cost, with the South Burnett contributing $20,000.<\/p>\n

Key aims of the plan were:<\/strong><\/p>\n