New Live, Work, Play Grid comes to life in Kingswood

Tuesday, 18 May 2021

Penrith City Council’s new 1.2km walking grid in Kingswood is coming to life thanks to support from the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s “Places to Love” program.

The Live, Work, Play Grid in Kingswood starts in Wainwright Park and encourages local residents, students and workers to walk the 1.2km loop and discover new temporary elements and activations along the way.

The project is about testing low-cost, high impact interventions such as pilots, pop-ups, short-term treatments and semi-permanent changes to see how they support walkability and activation in the heart of Kingswood. These interventions seek to improve walkable access to, and the amenity of, public space. Project outcomes can be used to guide future initiatives or permanent changes.

The improvements have been co-designed by local women who joined Penrith City Council in September 2020 on a Night Walk to share their experiences and ideas.

Penrith Mayor Karen McKeown OAM praised the involvement of local women in the co-design of public space improvements and said it helped make places feel better for everyone.

“The Live, Work, Play Grid project is exciting as Council has asked local women to share their experiences and invited their ideas for what would improve the streets and public spaces in Kingswood,” Cr McKeown said.

“Council recognises the importance of including local voices in public space improvements, and we are thrilled with the results of the Live, Work, Play Grid.

“The project is about testing some temporary interventions that make Kingswood feel more inviting for everyone,” she continued.

Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes said the NSW Government’s Places to Love program was helping councils such as Penrith City Council to find opportunities to innovate and reimagine public spaces.

"We're working with councils across Sydney and in regional NSW to create and test innovative projects that bring local public spaces to life,” Mr Stokes said.

"The council's Live, Work, Play Grid in Kingswood has created a more vibrant neighbourhood with a connected pedestrian walking loop that includes garden beds, artistic lighting and seating to help bring the community together."

Places to Love is a collaboration between the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment and pilot councils across NSW. 

Once complete, each project will develop a detailed case study that will be shared in the Great Public Spaces Toolkit.

Council’s project aligns with the THINK BOLD Kingswood Place Plan developed in consultation with local residents and stakeholders and seeks to increase vibrancy and vitality in Kingswood’s core.

Over April and May, a number of exciting activations and activities are planned for Kingswood along the grid. These include planting workshops, twilight picnics, a pop-up lunchroom and an outdoor movie night.

For more information about the project and planned activations, please visit penrith.city/liveworkplaykingswood

Information contained within this news release was correct as at Tuesday, 18 May 2021.