There were significant concerns raised around the recent works at Pirate Park, including claims that the grass was removed due to a child being injured.
After looking into this, I can confirm that Council did not receive any reports or complaints from the public about injuries from children playing on the slopes. Rather, the works were triggered by an assessment from the Parks & Open Space team, which had identified safety concerns around maintaining the grassed slopes. Pirate Park was the only location affected by this review.
From an Occupational Health & Safety perspective, certain maintenance activities (such as mowing) can only be safely carried out on slopes up to a maximum gradient of 1:5 (for every one metre of height, there needs to be at least 5 metres of horizontal ground).
When slopes are steeper than this, there is an increased risk of equipment tipping, loss of footing, or workers slipping or being injured. During the assessment of the two large mounds, staff identified sections where the slopes exceeded this safe limit, meaning they could not be safely maintained using standard mowing or maintenance equipment.
While Council always aims to balance safety, amenity and community enjoyment in all open spaces, it has been acknowledged that in this case the community should have been better informed before works commenced. This feedback has prompted internal process improvements within the maintenance team, which is an absolutely positive outcome for future works.
Importantly, this community feedback highlighted how valued the Pirate Park hills are as a playspace. As a result, Council will review and reinstate grass on areas where it can be safely maintained. The steepest sections will still become planted garden areas, but other parts of the mounds can be reworked and returfed so both kids and adults can continue to enjoy them.
Works are currently underway, and weather permitting, garden beds and returfing are expected to be completed by late May.
Thank you again to all the residents who raised this issue with me. It’s your advocacy that has directly influenced these changes and it’s helped improve how Council approaches safety alongside community usage.