Site planning

Best practice guidance for site planning

Play spaces (including playground equipment) must comply with AS 4685 – Playground equipment and surfacing (Set) and AS 4422 Playground surfacing – Playground surfacing, specifications, requirements and test method.

Playgrounds (or play spaces) in AS 4685.0 are defined as – ‘an area designed for children’s play, including the site, natural features, built landscape, and any manufactured equipment and surfacing’.

The RPP states “Play spaces are areas in recreation parks where children, friends, families and carers can use built and natural infrastructure for play”. It states that Council intends that equipment can be used by all ages and encourages multi-generational use.

There are a range of Australian Standards/best practice guidelines, relating to this category. Key documents are referenced throughout and in the LIM Play spaces - standards.

Kick and throw

The RPP defines kick and throw areas as:

“Designated spaces within parks that are open and free from built and natural infrastructure. They function as an extension to the residential backyard, where space for kicking, throwing and other space intensive activities is often insufficient”.

“One of the most important functions of a kick and throw area is the ability of these spaces to be flexible and accommodate a wide variety of temporary uses”.

Site decisions

All decisions, including the location of the embellishment and related infrastructure, must be made in conjunction with council (determined by site location), including officers from such areas as:

Council (Parks and Gardens)

Council (Communication) for all graphic design services and manufacturing support for sign templates.
- Excluding manufacturer user signage.

Users

Consult with council stakeholders, neighbouring properties and identified park users in the planning stage of a project.

Site conditions

Consider the physical characteristics of a site and requirements of the activities to be conducted:

prevailing winds
orientation to minimise sun impact
location of utilities
well drained site
level surface
flood immunity requirements.

Co-location of facilities

Facilities, including parking and pathways, are often already established and need to be considered in the overall park design.
Position play spaces and kick and throw areas with provision for seating and shade.
Consider grouping of play spaces and kick and throw areas with other park facilities, such as picnic nodes.
Locate near toilets, drinking fountains, taps, bins and bike rails, car parking and public transport.
The combination of play spaces, kick and throw spaces and picnic nodes with park amenities allows users to move from one space to the next and extend their stay in the park.

Safety

CCA treated timber shall NOT be used in play spaces, including any associated open space infrastructure such as fencing and the like. ACQ treated timber would be a suitable alternative.
Safety clearances must be met.
Adopt principles of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Guidelines for Queensland. Locate play spaces and kick and throw areas, to allow users to feel safe, and to provide an opportunity for casual surveillance.
Playground equipment and surfacing must carefully consider material selection that mitigates the heat build up on surfaces and the risk of hot surfaces to users (refer ISO 13732-1: 2006 – Ergonomics of the thermal environment – methods for the assessment of human responses to contact with surfaces – part 1: hot surfaces).

Potential site conflicts

Avoid locating play spaces near dog exercise areas (DEAs), particularly all-abilities play spaces.
- Sunshine Coast Local Law No. 2 (Animal Management) 2011 and Subordinate Local Law No. 2 2011, states that all animals are prohibited within 5.0 m of a children’s playground or barbecue facility in a park or reserve.
- Consideration needs to be given regarding the location of DEAs to ensure children and carers are separated from dogs.
- Best case scenario would be to locate the two activities in completely separate parks to avoid this conflict. Please note that All Abilities play spaces and DEAs should not be co-located.
Do NOT install dog facilities (such as drinking bowls) within the dogs prohibited exclusion zone defined under local laws (5.0 mfrom a playground).
Do NOT install smoking facilities (such as outdoor ashtrays) within the smoking exclusion zone. As per the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1998 and regulations, “Smoking is illegal within 10 metres of children’s outdoor playground equipment.”
Exercise equipment
- Exercise equipment is not intended for installation in the immediate vicinity of children’s playgrounds. If exercise equipment is installed in connection with playground equipment, they need to be separated from general playing activities by an appropriate distance, fencing or other structural measures. Refer AS 16630:2021.
- Exercise equipment is for youths and adults, or users having an overall height greater than 1400 mm only.

Locate play spaces and kick and throw areas away from:

Conflicting activities, such as sports facilities.
Residential areas, where possible, to avoid noise issues.
High use bikeways, busy roads and steep slopes, to avoid accidents.
Hazards such as waterways, fire and flood prone areas, sewers and stormwater drains, underground services, power poles and overhead power lines.

A risk assessment must be conducted to minimise potential risks e.g. busy roads, water bodies, etc. Water bodies are not preferred near All Abilities Play Spaces (AAPS).

Planning for sustainability

Refer Design principles – Sustainability for guidance.

Planning for future works

Co-locate embellishments requiring similar services e.g. water, to reduce infrastructure, where possible.
Where underground utilities are installed, set brass markers to concrete slab edges to indicate the location.
Consider installation of additional conduits under concrete slabs for future provision, where utilities (e.g. electrical, water) and irrigation systems are planned. Ensure additional conduit is capped to prevent ingress of water and debris.
Consider climate change impacts on the embellishment location and construction ¹.
- In coastal areas, or near waterways, design should consider rise in sea level predictions, storm tide, salt inundation and severe storm events.
- Positioning should also consider flooding, seasonal/ephemeral water bodies and water table changes.
- Near bushland areas, design should consider the occurrence of bushfires.

^{Source 1: Sunshine Coast Environment and Liveability Strategy 2017.}

Disclaimer

Information contained in this document may change without notice and you should use the current material available from Council’s website and not rely on material previously printed or stored by you.

All figures and diagrams are intended to be used as an aid to design and include Council’s preferred elements but they are not intended to be prescriptive and may need to be varied as dictated by site specific factors. While Council has exercised reasonable care in preparing this document, it does not warrant or represent that it is accurate or complete. The Council will not accept responsibility for any loss, damage, cost or expense that you may incur as a result of the use of or reliance upon any material contained in this document.

This document is produced to convey general information and is not intended to constitute advice whether professional or legal. Any reference to legislation in this document is not an interpretation of the law. It is to be used as a guide only. Consult relevant authority websites for current documents, revisions and amendments.

Where a particular product or supplier is profiled in this document, Council is NOT nominating this product or supplier as the selected choice. Product/supplier information has been provided to allow users to source products which contain the correct elements required for Council embellishments. Each product profiled states ‘or equivalent’ which means that different products may be supplied provided they satisfy the identified performance criteria, recommended standards, equal access guidance and product specifications.

Product design, manufacture and installation requires appropriately qualified people to provide site specific solutions to ensure the embellishment is appropriately adapted to local conditions and data.

This document does not override requirements stipulated in a development approval. Project specific variations may be appropriate as a result of site, environmental or other constraints. Any variations to these standards must be approved in writing by council prior to commencement of variation works. Components of this document may be used within a contract document but users should undertake their own investigations to confirm the information is suitable for this purpose.

Drawings contained in this document are NOT FOR CONSTRUCTION.

Details in this document are deemed to be the minimum standard and the user may wish to apply a higher standard subject to approval by council.