Communities affected by fire and drought are the focus of the new round of funding for inclusive playspaces in the NSW Government’s Everyone Can Play grant program.
NSW councils are invited to apply for the latest round of grants to improve or create their inclusive playspaces aligned with the Everyone Can Play Guideline, which delivers more and better inclusive playspaces across NSW.
The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s Group Deputy Secretary of Place, Design and Public Spaces Alex O’Mara said applications from councils in declared drought or bushfire-affected areas will be prioritised in this round, with an extra $3 million reserved for them in addition to the $4 million grants round on offer to all councils in NSW.
“The Everyone Can Play program has been a wonderful success – in its third year we wanted to recognise the importance of playspaces in all communities especially those in drought and fire-affected areas as a way of bringing people together. It made sense to increase the grants cap for new and upgraded playspaces for struggling communities who have lost so much valuable public space,” Ms O’Mara said.
“The NSW Government is supporting communities facing hardship this year in many different ways and there can be no better result from these grants than putting the smiles on the faces of kids and adults of all ages and abilities.”
Amendments to this strategic recovery round of Everyone Can Play funding include drought and fire-affected councils only needing to contribute 25 per cent of matched funding, where usually councils match grants dollar for dollar. Eligible councils will also be able to apply for up to $700,000 in funding for exemplary projects bringing their community together and aiding recovery.
“We want to see creative projects that allow everyone to enjoy our wonderful public spaces and I encourage all NSW councils to apply to create legacy projects of great joy for their communities.”
This is the third round of grants for the Everyone Can Play in NSW program, established in 2018.In the previous round, 37 projects across 30 council areas received funding for inclusive playspaces across NSW, including Strathfield’s Amazing Inclusion Maze, Bourke’s Sun Safe Play, Griffith’s Henderson Oval Playground and Northern Beaches’ Clontarf Reserve Playground.
Councils can apply for grants of up to $300,000 for new playspaces and up to $75,000 for improvements. Applications are open until midday, 3 November 2020 October.
