Project Overview

Sunshine Coast Council has undertaken early planning to improve Jessica Park, Minyama.

This project was initiated in response to the need for a guiding document that addresses council’s long term planning for this site.

Council’s design and placemaking team will carefully assess all feedback and survey results from community enegagement undertaken between 25 November and 12 December 2022.

This will include further design exploration, identifying our community’s priorities, speaking with other council teams as applicable, developing a final plan for presentation to council, and scoping indicative costs so that potential funding opportunities and construction stages can be identified over the following years.

While these improvements are not currently included in council’s 10-year Capital Works Program, community feedback on the plan will help council to determine the priorities for staging improvements and guide future grant applications and/or funding opportunities.

Council will continue to keep our community informed as the project progresses.

Context plan

Overview

Recreation parks are at the heart of the Sunshine Coast’s diverse landscape, lifestyle offering and community.

They provide space for social, recreational and cultural activities. They connect people to nature and provide relief from the built environment. Council owns and maintains a diverse open space network providing green spaces that contribute to the social, environmental and economic health of our region.

This hierarchy of public open space identifies Jessica Park as a large green space destination within the district area. This reinforces the need for a thorough consideration of land use and programming within the park, to ensure that it is able to further develop its identity as a destination and a shared backyard for local residents and the wider community.

Guided by analysis of the park’s current uses, constraints and opportunities, council has developed an initial vision for what the park could look like in the future. These improvements for the park, aim to respond to current sites issues, enhance the overall function and usability of the park, revitalise park amenities and facilities and look to meet the needs of the growing community.

Through the vision, council aims to enhance what people already love about the park and address the challenges currently facing the park.

Some of the opportunities/challenges include:

  • Lack of identity: The park is not visually prominent from Nicklin Way or its other surroundings due to poor signage and heavy vegetation. There is an opportunity to improve site recognition and identity of the park through visual markers, clearing of sightlines and upgrades of park facilities.
  • Access and safety: The site currently lacks defined access points and some access points are visually obstructed. The park’s pathways are in need of an upgrade in some areas for better walkability. It also has poor sightlines and the lighting contributes to safety risks on site. There are multiple opportunities to respond to these safety and access issues on site.
  • Park facilities: Facilities on site are ageing and some are due for renewal in the near future. These components of the park could be revitalised as part of the vision for the site for improved usability, function and offerings.
  • Vegetation management: The site offers a unique forest feel within a coastal context. However, issues with poor sightlines and ongoing maintenance are attributed to some of the vegetation on site. There are opportunities to preserve significant and undertake some clearing of understorey and low-value plants to enhance the park’s usability.

Community Engagement

Community feedback is critical to informing the development of the future of Jessica Park. Improvement ideas and visions for the park will be informed through the project phases below:

Phase one – Ideas: Council has proposed improvments for the park through initial site analysis and investigations.

Phase two – Have your say: Based on council’s improvement ideas, we want to hear your feedback and other ideas that could be incorporated into the vision.

Phase three – Let’s form a plan: The feedback received will be incorporated into a final visionary plan to guide and address council’s long term planning for the site.

Improvement Ideas Plan

The park is well-loved by the local Minyama community as well as by neighbouring precincts.

Design Principles

The below principles consider the park’s unique character, current challenges, the needs of the community, connections, and opportunities offered by the site’s natural features and location. These principles have shaped the ideas for the site:

  • Identity

    Emphasise the site’s unique character, strengthen its visual identity and prominence to its surrounds.

  • Balance, nature, recreation and leisure

    Balance the strong natural character of the site between usable open space and functionality within the park.

  • Create a connected and shared backyard

    Enhance connections into and within the site to link the community to its active and communal spaces.

  • Enhance safety and accessibility

    Create a park that is accessible and safe for visitors of all ages. Maximise crime prevention through design and opportunities for active and passive surveillance.

Interactive Plan

Click on the icons on the plan below to reveal more information about each of the proposed ideas.

Please note this plan is to communicate possible ideas for this phase of consultation and is subject to further investigations, detailed design and available funding.

Key Areas

Below are a handful of the key areas that form some of the ideas proposed as part of reimagined Jessica Park.

This project was initiated in response to the need for a guiding document that addresses council’s long-term planning for this site.

These documents include:

  • The Sunshine Coast Environment and Liveability Strategy (ELS) provides long-term strategic direction to shape the region by guiding growth and delivering the transformational change required to maintain a healthy environment and liveable Sunshine Coast in 2041 for future generations. The strategy focuses on the preservation and enhancement of the natural environment and the liveability of our region, enabling a good quality of life for all residents and supporting a strong economy in an accessible and well connected built environment. The strategy seeks to guide decision-making and actions that will continue to protect and respect the importance of the natural environment as the foundation for the Sunshine Coast way of life.
  • Sunshine Coast Design is part of a long term Design Strategy to help our community and council manage the challenges of population growth, economic development and climate change so that the liveability of the Sunshine Coast is maintained and enhanced into the future.
  • Sunshine Coast Recreation Parks Plan (RPP) outlines the strategic direction for recreation parks across the region. The RPP highlights the key recreational functions of our parks and provides guidance on the distribution of infrastructure (both living and built) to support these functions.

The above Improvement Ideas Plan and artistic sketches show how the park could look in the future. Council invites you to share your feedback on the plan via survey.

When considering your feedback please consider each question carefully to help identify your priorities for the park upgrade, given the project will most likely be progressed in stages and as funding becomes available.

Complete the online survey by clicking on the survey tab at the top of this page.

Survey

Share your ideas

Share your ideas

Once you have completed the survey please use the Ideas Board below to share your ideas for improvements for Jessica Park.

Your ideas will be posted publicly providing the opportunity for others to vote on each idea.

Ideas Board

What is your idea?

12 December, 2022

Sarah says:

Rather than adding a kiosk, make it easier to find/access the wonderful cafe located just on the edge of the park, Antiquated.

12 December, 2022

Stephanie says:

Maintain pond but do something about overpowering smell it creates. No need for kiosk as coffee shop backs on to the park. Upgrade amenities

11 December, 2022

Larry says:

A basketball court for the older kids.

9 December, 2022

Donald says:

I think separate play areas for little kids and big kids is a great idea, as is expanding the existing sporting facilities.

8 December, 2022

Brendan says:

Wheelchair accessible playground and equipment. Accessible toilets with change table and incontinence waste bins.

7 December, 2022

ric says:

leave it alone just fix pond eliminate cane toads and put in good reticulation system to aerate water .

7 December, 2022

Betty says:

Leave Jessica Park as a natural bush habitat for birds and wildlife, I enjoy the quietness there.

1 December, 2022

LDiva says:

Leave parkland as parkland; Nearby businesses already offer food & drinks; No kiosk or business space to be added, just update amenities

29 November, 2022

Clare Caple says:

Leave it as it is, my granddaughter loves this park for its natural appeal, the litle Bridge, the turkeys, maybe a toilet and table upgrade

29 November, 2022

Nature says:

Timber & play equipment,water pumps with bridges,rock pools,concrete tunnels,large statues, community garden.Look @ Roma Street Parklands!

27 November, 2022

V King says:

The pond is a breeding ground for Cane toads, which causes infestations to local businesses (ie daycare). Please consider using toad traps!

25 November, 2022

Kurt Niesler says:

we would like a skate park or bike tracks put into the park