Key information
- Status: Closed
- Grant amount: Up to $4,000,000
- Application opened: 12 February 2025
- Application closed: 31 March 2025, 5:00 pm
Program objective
The Metropolitan Greenspace Program helps councils in the Greater Sydney Region and Central Coast Council to deliver projects that improve regional open space and community liveability.
Please refer to the Metropolitan Greenspace Program and Metropolitan Greenspace Program Guidelines 2024-25
The key objectives for this grant round are to:
- improve regionally significant open space, including links between bushland, parks, centres and waterways;
- improve the critical ecosystem by restoring habitat;
- design and deliver projects that value and respect the cultural knowledge of the place;
- enable multiple uses of regionally significant open space;
- improve community access to a diverse mix of open space opportunities for Greater Sydney and the Central Coast;
- encourage partnerships between state, local government and our Aboriginal communities through co-design; and
- support projects that demonstrate the principles of Connecting to Country.
The Program is administered by the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.
This program is administered by Planning, Land Use, Housing and Strategy.
Eligibility
Who can apply
Councils in the Greater Sydney Region and Central Coast Council including:
Bayside Council, Blacktown City Council, Blue Mountains City Council, Burwood Council, Camden Council, Campbelltown City Council, Central Coast Council, City of Canada Bay, Canterbury-Bankstown Council, Cumberland Council, Fairfield City Council, Georges River Council, Hawkesbury City Council, Hills Shire Council, The Hornsby Shire Council, The Council of the Municipality of Hunters Hill, Inner West Council, Ku-ring-gai Council, Lane Cove Municipal Council, Liverpool City Council, Mosman Municipal Council, North Sydney Council, Northern Beaches Council, City of Parramatta Council, Penrith City Council, Randwick City Council, City of Ryde Council, Strathfield Municipal Council, Sutherland Shire Council, City of Sydney, Waverley Shire Council, City of Willoughby, Wollondilly Shire Council, and Woollahra Municipal Council
Types of projects funded under this grant
Capital works
The types of capital works that the program will consider in relation to both new and existing open space include:
- walking tracks and recreational or bicycle trails
- playgrounds
- bushland and environmental management or restoration
- interpretative signage and educational programs associated with trails and greenspaces
- conservation works guided by appropriate planning and assessment
- park and open space development and upgrading
- recreation facilities
- soft-landscape works
- hard-landscape works
Planning projects
For planning projects councils must demonstrate that projects will lead to capital works within 24 months. The types of planning works that are eligible include:
- local council open space strategies
- regional open space feasibility studies
- master plans or plans of management
- recreation trails planning, feasibility or masterplans (no construction)
- natural or cultural heritage studies, interpretation, archaeological investigation, conservation management, bushland or vegetation management plans
Types of projects not funded under this grant
The following works are not eligible for funding under this program:
- projects outside NSW
- purchase or lease of land
- funding of personnel or staff positions
- civil works associated with car parks
- amenities blocks
- seawalls and jetties
- buying or upgrading non-fixed equipment
- events, marketing, branding, advertising or product promotion
- projects requiring ongoing funding from the NSW Government
- retrospective funding to cover any project component that is already complete or underway
Most recent recipients
What was approved
Approved for Bayside Council
Bayside Council proposes to extend natural area restoration works (weed removal and planting) in three important natural areas within the Bayside LGA, Bardwell Valley, Scarborough Ponds and Sir Joseph Banks Park. The project areas are approximately 12,000
$119,332 was approved by
Minister for Planning and Public SpacesDate approved
July 2025Location of the project
NSWLocation of the recipient
Rockdale 2216About the grant
Applications approved
15
Applications received
23
Metropolitan Greenspace Program 2024-2025
Program term
30/11/2026What was approved
Approved for Bayside Council
Bayside Council proposes to extend natural area restoration works (weed removal and planting) in three important natural areas within the Bayside LGA, Bardwell Valley, Scarborough Ponds and Sir Joseph Banks Park. The project areas are approximately 12,000 m2 Bardwell Valley, 3,000m2 Scarborough Ponds and 12,000 m2 at Sir Joseph Banks Park. Works at Bardwell Valley will be limited to primary weed removal as there is natural regeneration at this sites. Works at Scarborough Ponds will include primary weed removal, mulching and planting of 2,000 native species and works at Sir Joseph Banks Park will include primary weed removal, mulching and planting of 1,000 native species. These works will reduce the area of weeds, including priority weeds, at each site while increasing habitat, biodiversity and amenity for local residents and visitors.
$119,332 was approved by
Minister for Planning and Public SpacesDate approved
July 2025Location of the project
NSWLocation of the recipient
Rockdale 2216About the grant
Applications approved
15
Applications received
23
Metropolitan Greenspace Program 2024-2025
Program term
30/11/2026What was approved
Approved for Blacktown City Council
Grant funding will support the planning and design of a vibrant, artist-led interactive public art playspace in Alpha Park. This project will be a collaborative initiative, placing Traditional Owners and Blacktown creatives at the forefront of designing a distinctive playscape that embodies the local culture, history, and artistic expression at the very heart of Blacktown City. With Great West Walk, a significant Green grid project, passing through Blacktown CBD and Alpha Park with Alpha Park being planned as a major cultural precinct, this project will significantly strengthen the Green Grid by offering a dynamic space instrumental in promoting well-being, cultural richness, and community cohesion. The playspace will be crucial in supporting the anticipated population growth around Alpha Park, driven by the increased housing supply in the surrounding zones as outlined in the NSW Government’s Low and Medium Rise Housing Policy. This vital addition will help meet the evolving needs of the growing community in the years to come. This project will reinforce our commitment to the community by empowering local artists, including those with disabilities, and elevating their talents to shape a distinctive space that authentically reflects their invaluable contributions. Blacktown City is one of the most diverse and vibrant communities in Australia, with more than 184 cultures and is home to the second-largest urban population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in NSW. This playspace will directly respond to the needs of Blacktown City girls, women, gender-diverse people and local residents by providing a safe and inclusive facility in the centrally located park within walking distance from their home. It will be accessible and cater to people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds providing a safe and welcoming environment for all. Responding to community feedback, particularly from shift workers, this playspace with extended hours of use, will play a pivotal role in activating an underutilised green space. It will make the park a safe and accessible space even after dark and enhance the liveability of a city undergoing transformation. Being led by Traditional Owners, this playspace will respond to feedback from our Dharug community by responding and connecting to the Country to heal this beautiful urban park in the heart of growing Blacktown City. Council is guided by Connecting to Country and have commissioned a cultural brief by Djinjama (not part of this funding) to support Connecting to Country. We are also developing a masterplan and place strategy to support a 20-year vision for this park that our local loves and our changing community. This playspace will be strategically integrated with the new Blacktown Arts and Culture facility, proposed for Alpha Park. Blacktown City Council has secured funding for the construction of the building through the Western Sydney Infrastructure Grant Program (WSIG) but there is cu
$300,000 was approved by
Minister for Planning and Public SpacesDate approved
July 2025Location of the project
NSWLocation of the recipient
Blacktown 2148About the grant
Applications approved
15
Applications received
23
Metropolitan Greenspace Program 2024-2025
Program term
30/04/2027What was approved
Approved for Campbelltown City Council
Council’s adopted Reimagining Campbelltown City Centre Master Plan provides a strategic framework for the city’s future development, including streets and public domain. This Master Plan is complemented by Council’s draft Blue-Green Grid and LGA Bicycle P
$940,351 was approved by
Minister for Planning and Public SpacesDate approved
July 2025Location of the project
NSWLocation of the recipient
Campbelltown 2560About the grant
Applications approved
15
Applications received
23
Metropolitan Greenspace Program 2024-2025
Program term
29/01/2027What was approved
Approved for Campbelltown City Council
Council’s adopted Reimagining Campbelltown City Centre Master Plan provides a strategic framework for the city’s future development, including streets and public domain. This Master Plan is complemented by Council’s draft Blue-Green Grid and LGA Bicycle Plan which provides a spatial framework for Campbelltown’s green and blue spaces, addressing current and future needs of public space as the LGA continues to grow. Council is now commencing the next phases of design and delivery of priority projects identified in these guiding strategies and plans. The Broughton Street Cycleway (the project) is one of the high priority projects identified. The project will provide a dedicated cycleway and public domain works on this key east-west link connecting the Campbelltown City Centre and surrounding suburbs to recreational trails in Smiths Creek Nature Reserve and Georges River Parklands. The Project has been separated into five stages in order to confidently manage the planning, design and delivery of the full project. These stages are: - Stage 1 - Smiths Creek to Waminda Avenue; - Stage 2 – Waminda Avenue to Macquarie Avenue; - Stage 3 – Macquarie Avenue to Lindesay Street; - Stage 4 – Lindesay Street to Moore Street; - Stage 5 – Moore Street to Hurley Street. The Project is divided up into four phases of work. Phase 1 and 2 refers to the full project (Stages 1 to 5). Phase 3 and 4 refers specifically to Stage 1 as outlined below: • Phase 1 comprises this Project Brief which outlines the details regarding the planning, investigation, background, scope of works, budget, resourcing, risk management and timing of the Broughton Street Cycleway (covering all of the above tasks across the full extents of Stages 1 to 5). • Phase 2 involves the preparation of a detailed concept design for Stages 1 to 5. This detailed concept design incorporates a separated cycleway and associated public domain works along Broughton Street between Hurley Street and Smiths Creek Nature Reserve. • Phase 3 includes the preparation of detailed design documentation for tender and construction for Stage 1 only. This will deliver a section of the critical east-west link connecting the suburb of Airds, the Smiths Creek Nature Reserve and Georges River Parklands to the Campbelltown City Centre via a dedicated cycleway. • Phase 4 consists of the tender and construction of Stage 1 of the Broughton Street Cycleway. Broughton Street (the site) is a key arterial route approximately 2.2km in length spanning across the Campbelltown City Centre and surrounding residential suburbs. The topography of the corridor is relatively flat within the City Centre but has an undulating topography in the section south east of Moore Street. The site is classed as a regional road under the NSW Road Network Classification and is the responsibility of Council for its funding, determining priorities and carrying out works, as per the NSW Road Management Arrangements. The corridor has a di
$940,351 was approved by
Minister for Planning and Public SpacesDate approved
July 2025Location of the project
NSWLocation of the recipient
Campbelltown 2560About the grant
Applications approved
15
Applications received
23
Metropolitan Greenspace Program 2024-2025
Program term
30/01/2027What your application needs to include
Prepare your application with this checklist
Familiarise yourself with the grant requirements set out in the Metropolitan Greenspace Program Guidelines 2024-25.
Complete the application form in SmartyGrants with reference to the objectives of the Program and assessment criteria in the Guidelines.
Attach the required documents to the application form including:
- Project location plan
- Land owner's consent, if not Council land
- Project plan including: project scope, objectives & deliverables; schedule; cost items; project team participants & their role; key stakeholders including any communications/engagement; procurement items & expected procurement methods; approvals, if required; and risks & mitigation measure as required.
- Cost estimate to include item description; quantity; unit cost; totals; funding sources
- Concept plan to include aerial photograph with site boundary and proposed works identified.
- Letter of support signed by the council's General Manager or equivalent authorising the application for grant funding under the Metropolitan Greenspace Program.
- Confirmation of Certificate of Public Liability Insurance
Address the eligibility criteria
Each applicant, as part of an application response, must confirm that they meet the eligibility criteria.
Applicants that do not address the eligibility criteria in full may be excluded from the application process at the department's discretion.
Address the assessment criteria
The Metropolitan Greenspace Program Guidelines 2024-25 include the assessment criteria which a Panel of experts will use to assess projects against key components including project merit and project deliverability.
Priority will be given to projects which increase and improve open space to support housing supply.
Start the application
The Metropolitan Greenspace Program Guidelines 2024-25 include details on how to apply.
Key application requirements include:
- Matched funding – grant funding must be matched dollar for dollar with cash funding; in-kind contributions may be included.
- Regional status of open space – you must demonstrate the regional qualities of the open-space project for which you are seeking funding and contribution to the Greater Sydney Green Grid.
The application form can be found on SmartyGrants.
If you are a new applicant to SmartyGrants, you will need to register and create a password. If you are already registered, you can log in with your existing username and password.
Submit your application in SmartyGrants by 5pm, 31 March 2025.
Note: If you are a new applicant to SmartyGrants, you will need to register and create a password. If you are already registered, you can log in with your existing username and password.
Apply now
After the application is submitted
Successful applications will be decided by: Minister for Planning and Public Spaces
The Metropolitan Greenspace Program Guidelines 2024-25 include the assessment process and timeframes for the round.
The Department will assemble a panel of experts to complete the assessment of all eligible applications.
The eligible applications will be assessed against the Metropolitan Greenspace Program objectives and assessment criteria.
Anticipated assessment outcome date is June 2025
Anticipated date for funding deed execution with successful applicants is July 2025
Support and contact
For queries about the Metropolitan Greenspace Program Guidelines, deadlines, or questions in the SmartyGrants form please contact DPHI staff between 9am-5pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) at the GreenSpace Mailbox