When the local park reopens, something shifts. Routine returns. Children reclaim their independence. Families find their way back to the street, the footpath, the Saturday morning ritual. And a neighbourhood knows, in a way that no official announcement can quite capture, that it’s going to be okay.
The 2022 floods damaged parks, playgrounds and open spaces across the Tweed. For the families who depend on these spaces for daily life, the loss was felt in small but significant ways. Restoring these spaces has been one of the most meaningful parts of the flood recovery program.
Tweed Shire Council, supported by the Australian and NSW Governments through the $15.5 million Community Assets Program, has upgraded parks and open spaces across the Tweed since the 2022 floods. Each project was designed with 2 principles at its centre: build back better where funding allowed, and make every space more accessible and inclusive than it was before.
“Improvements to our parks and open spaces have had remarkably broad reach, stretching from Pottsville on the coast to Uki in the hinterland. Many communities with flood-damaged open space have been included, and every upgrade follows the same principles: building back better, improving accessibility and creating more resilient, better-designed places for everyone. This consistent approach across so many sites is what makes the program truly significant.”
Murray Smith, Manager Parks and Active Communities, Tweed Shire Council
