Case Studies
Endeavour Park

Design Feature

Type of project
Playground
State
New South Wales
Location
Urban
Endeavour Park is an award-winning inclusive park space located in Kings Langley, a suburb of the Blacktown local government area, Sydney. Comprising of 5.2 hectares of land, the park caters to the needs or various ages and abilities, including young children, seniors and people with disabilities.
Accessible Endeavours
The park effectively addresses the needs of active ageing and physical stimulation for seniors through providing access to tailored exercise facilities. The park features a range of exercise equipment, such as a shoulder wheel, balance beam, step and calf risers, finger stairs and memory game. These facilities enable users to participate in low-impact exercise that can help to improve dexterity, flexibility, strength, coordination, mobility and cognition.
Additionally, the park features an accessible gym circuit. In this gym circuit the equipment has no attached seating. Instead, the exercise equipment features a place for the user’s mobility device. A soft fall playspace is also incorporated into the park, as well as ramps to access the playspace, instead of stairs. 
Endeavour Park playspace.

Supporting use of, and engagement with the space, the park has a range of additional facilities such as barbeques, undercover shelters, accessible toilets and seating benches that are easily accessible for older residents and people with additional needs.
Furthermore, there is exactly one kilometre of walking paths circumnavigating the park, designed to encourage regular walking for all ages. Having the path network measure exactly one-kilometre permits community users to maintain an understanding of how far they have walked, while providing measurable goals in an attempt to increase their walking endurance. Importantly, the path also suits rehabilitation health plans where targets are set (e.g. walk 500 metres a day).
Blacktown City Mayor, Tony Bleasdale OAM said, “Council is committed to providing the best possible recreation facilities for our residents in nearly 800 parks and reserves across Blacktown City.
“Council is also committed to ensuring that the health and wellbeing of our incredibly diverse population is our number one priority. 
“Endeavour Park provides a broad, diverse and challenging range of play experiences, enabling all members of the community to maintain their quality of life, keep active and to remain engaged within their community,” Mayor Bleasdale said.
Project team
  • Blacktown City Council
  • New South Wales Government
  • Fiona Robbé Landscape Architects

Project Cost
$1.5 Million
Health value
  • Endeavour Park includes a variety of equipment that enables users to improve their physical fitness, build cognitive health, provide sensory richness, and enhance social connections in a natural setting.
  • Intergenerational engagement is supported through the site, with features including mixed-ability facilities, barbeque areas, outdoor fitness equipment, dog off-leash areas, and additional amenities like tables, seating, shade structures and toilets.

Economic Value
  • Endeavour Park is a popular destination for the local and broader community. As the inclusive space attracts users from surrounding areas, Blacktown’s local economy is stimulated, providing positive impacts to their town centre, local stores and businesses.
  • Reducing the level of preventable disease and illness in Blacktown City will lessen the burden on the community’s health resources (Blacktown and Mount Druitt Hospitals, as well as General Practice centres) resulting in both economic and social benefits to the region.
  • Walking is one of the simplest and most effective ways to increase physical activity and improve health and wellbeing. Each additional kilometre walked has been estimated to result in $1.04-$2.08 of health related benefits (Western Sydney Local Health District).
  • The circuitous shared path placed and laced delicately across Endeavour Park is one of the most highly-used elements of the park. It is one of the primary features requested by the community, who have proven its worth by activating it every day and evening.
  • People with disabilities and older residents are able to remain active and engaged through using the park. This may increase their physical health and wellbeing, which can reduce the need for health-related medication and care and associated expenses. For example, a parent brings her autistic child to the playground before school to play, rather than relying on institutionalised therapy only.
  • Amenities at Endeavour Park economically support the broader Blacktown community by enabling the hosting of events. Besides increased tourism and visitor revenue, the space now provides essential amenities to host moderate to large scale community events for the City.

Environmental Value
  • Endeavour Park provides areas of green space and native vegetation. These environmental attributes enable the continued growth of Blacktown’s local fauna and flora diversity. These native vegetation types were prioritised in the development of the site to minimise the need for ongoing maintenance in order to suit the local climate.
  • The design not only embraces and protects the areas of remnant and revegetated native vegetation but has seen the planting of more than 100 additional trees. This naturally increases the habitat for fauna, improves air quality, assists areas that are vulnerable to erosion and responds to the impacts of urban heat.
  • By providing a path that sweeps past the bush regeneration area, the Kings Langley Volunteer Bushcare Group has grown in number as more of the community become aware of the opportunity to contribute to this important local asset. This outcome of course also contributes to the social benefits of this project.
  • Recycled, sustainable and natural materials were used throughout the project, including locally recycled concrete and crusher dust in the extensive sub-base preparation and concrete works.

Social Value
  • The exciting and inclusive Endeavour Park playspace promotes social inclusion and interaction as a platform for intergenerational and cross-sectional collaboration, creating a sense of inclusion, safety and belonging in Blacktown City. As the park provides for play, fitness, community meals, and off-leash areas, this brings together various sectors of our community that historically operate distinctly from one another without meaningful interaction.
  • The dog off-leash area allows members of the community to meet other dog owners and develop proper socialisation of their dogs. This will result in lower incidences of anti-social dog behaviour, as well as the potential decrease in the number of incidents involving dogs throughout the community. Endeavour Park has been transformed into a true community destination that is treasured by the Blacktown City and broader community.
  • 14.8% of Blacktown residents are aged 60 years plus. To address the potential impacts of social isolation, high blood pressure and heart disease, and encourage an active ageing community, Endeavour Park provides ageing communities excellent opportunities for social and intergenerational activities.
  • Children who visit the park and playground grow up immersed in a community they know, identify with, and feel they belong to - through play and fitness. These factors contribute to a child’s sense of wellbeing, resilience and confidence.

Use Value
  • Endeavour Park is a very adaptable and inclusive park which can be used for market stalls, community events, sports play, playground activities and family outings. These spaces also allow for carer/parent engagement for people living with dementia, disabilities and older people. When these elements are combined, the community is rewarded with an entirely unique park that promotes increased use and encourages pride within their neighbourhood.
  • The park promotes healthy living and community use through legible park pathways and clear signage. This signage can also benefit residents from all demographics of society, from the aged, to those with a disability, and to culturally and linguistically diverse communities. By providing wayfinding opportunities this ensures the broadest use by the community.
  • The park tells a story of James Cook and the HMB Endeavour, and gives a playful reminder of the incredible journey he and his crew undertook from 1768 to 1771. This reference helps people understand more about Australia’s history and can give a point of personal attachment to the park.

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