Have we got our new Donovan Park Reserve Management Plan Right?

Council is consulting on the Draft Donovan Park Reserve Management Plan, which is a legally required document to set out how we will manage the reserve

Donovan Park is an important green link in the city’s parks systems. Covering over 79 hectares of green open space with land, the reserve contributes significantly to the open green space of Invercargill with its unique rural characteristics and Council has recently been working with the community to create a vision for the Reserve.

After the Masterplan process was completed, Council asked the community to use it as their guiding document to tell us what their priorities were for the next 10 years, to inform our new Reserve Management Plan. All the feedback Council received, along with the themes identified in the Masterplan have fed into our draft Donovan Park Management Plan

Key Projects

This management plan is a review of the 2012 Donovan Park Reserve Management Plan. It aims to show the first ten years of detail based on the masterplan and each subsequent review will incorporate future priorities. A draft implementation plan has been developed to support the execution and administration of the Reserve Management Plan.

Key Project Themes that will be delivered through the implementation plan and detailed within the ten-year Reserve Management Plan include:

Celebrating Unique Natural Character

• Continuing the urban-rural integration and transition.
• Enhancing and improving water and nature features to add more amenity and better support biodiversity outcomes, while managing storm water control.
• Providing green tree lined routes within the reserve to encourage active transport.

Promoting an Open Space Network

• Removing fences to open up more access for all.
• Focus on improving accessibility through the reserve.
• Enhancing connections to residential/urban areas.
• Provide additional facilities to encourage more uses for people to stay longer.
• Develop active transport connections within the reserve.

Rationalising Land Use

• Clearly outlining the different uses of the reserve through an organised framework.
• This will ensure the reserve has long term sustainable uses.
• Activating more of the land for public access.
• Providing quality spaces for multi-use activities and events.
• Continuing a family friendly/whānau centric place for visitors.

Possible revocation of part of Donovan Park

Following community engagement, the Future Development section of the draft Reserve Management Plan has incorporated three options for consideration to inform next steps, in line with legislative requirements for Reserve Management Plans (Reserves Act 1977).

Have your say

Council invites you to have your say on the draft implementation plan and draft Reserve Management Plan.

Let us know what you think before submissions close on Wednesday 14 February