Charging schools to use public parks can undermine community partnerships. But there's a better way

UNSW Sydney

North Sydney Council will undermine community partnerships if it goes ahead with its plan to charge schools to use its public parks. Instead, it could work towards reciprocal access with the community able to use school spaces.

North Sydney Council recently endorsed a policy that introduces fees for school use of public parks along with commercial use of these spaces. Groups of more than 21 people, including schools, will be asked to pay for what until now has been considered a public good. 

Council reported that residents have complained about the “hogging” of open spaces by fitness trainers, kayak users, dog walkers, organised commercial picnics, and the fees would enable the council to keep parks well maintained and available to all. 

While this proposed new policy seems sensible, by classifying school use as “commercial”, the policy risks undermining one of the most valuable ways that councils, schools and communities can collaborate: by sharing scarce open space. 

Our 2024 study, ‘Sharing public open spaces with local schools’, argued that partnership models and joint use agreements offer a better way to balance competing demands without undermining the community benefits of open spaces. 

Why do schools need access to public open spaces?

Overcrowding has been recognised as a common issue in Australian urban schools and a major barrier to children's outdoor activities in their school environments. In our study, students believed that their school playground had “far too many people [they] bump into”, therefore, they are “almost forced to sit down”.

Research shows that access to active outdoor play during school recess significantly improves student self-regulation, sustained attention, and increased students’ time on-task. In addition, outdoor activity is a core part of learning at school. Research reported benefits of learning in natural outdoor settings including development of social and collaborative skills, increased student engagement and ownership of their learning, improved self-concept and some evidence of academic improvement.

In dense urban areas like North Sydney, where open space is often limited, schools rely on neighbourhood open spaces for such outdoor activities, play, exercise and learning. Walking excursions, physical education, science lessons and wellbeing activities all benefit from access to nearby green space. 

Public spaces are contested  

Public open spaces are “contested spaces”, as schools use of play equipment, fitness equipment and dogs’ off-leash areas can limit public access to these facilities. Residents value peaceful, accessible parks, and councils have to balance competing interests with limited resources and maintenance budgets.

We found that councils often lack sufficient funding to contribute to maintenance and upkeep of open spaces when they are heavily used by schools. Council officers in our study noted that schools generated an “enormous amount of waste” during lunchtime which created additional pressure on council staff to maintain these areas to a high standard for the wider community. Schools, on the other hand, argued that council maintenance was inadequate for safe student use, particularly potholes on grassed areas. 

This begs the questions, how can schools and councils share scarce open space without unfairly undermining one another’s needs? 

Shared challenges, shared benefits

Our study of school–council relationships suggests that solutions lie in “reciprocal access”. Council officers argued that if schools opened their facilities to the broader community, councils would be more willing to collaborate and support school use of public parks. As one officer explained:

“We don't have any aquatic facilities that we manage … we do have private schools that have some really good aquatic facilities that we could facilitate access to our community … Ultimately, we would like to explore opportunities for reciprocal access.” 

Where reciprocal arrangements existed, councils described school use of local parks as “very hands-off”. But when schools never shared their grounds in return, councils saw this as “unfair”. Some schools were described as “no-go zones”, designed more like “prisons” than community hubs, making them difficult or impossible for residents to access. 

The NSW Department of Education has recently acknowledged this issue. Its new Master Planning and Landscape guidelines explicitly call for after-hours access to secured open space. Proposed “community zones” include games courts, school halls, libraries, and other learning areas that could be safely shared outside school hours.

For schools to benefit equally, however, the quality of public open spaces must also improve. School principals and students in our study pointed to missing amenities such as toilet blocks, shade, litter bins, drinking fountains, benches, sports fields, and play equipment. From the students’ perspective, their local park was often “so boring”. They wanted equipment that was more “challenging and entertaining”.

Developing shared use agreements

Our study highlights the need for mutually agreed frameworks to support schools’ use of public open spaces. These agreements can set out clear terms for access, scheduling, liability, and upkeep. Done well, they balance schools’ educational needs with the community’s right to enjoy local parks, while also managing wear and tear. 

Other countries have done this before. In the US, for instance, the Joint Use Agreements promotes shared use of facilities as a way to maximise limited public resources while strengthening local ties. Similarly, in the UK, Community Use Agreements are common, enabling schools and councils to co-manage sports fields, halls, and playgrounds for both school and community benefit. 

Children use parks for recess just as adults use them for lunch breaks, yet when schools bring groups of students, their presence is often treated as controversial. This reflects a social bias against this kind of use rather than a genuine issue of “commercial” use. Schools are not businesses; they are community institutions, and instead of charging them, councils should seek collaborative ways to share limited open space.

Samantha Dunn
Arts, Design & Architecture
0414 924 364
[email protected]