Open Space Planning

We create amazing parks and outdoor spaces. To achieve this, it all begins with a plan. To meet the needs of a community, our planning has to account for the long term, considering people’s needs now and how they will use the space in years to come. We have to plan for every detail, right down to who will maintain the grass.

We undertake planning development projects of any scale, drawing on the vast experience of our team in local government parks management and operation, and resource management planning.

From specific strategies to reserve management plans and overarching open space strategy, we produce planning documents you can implement within the local government political environment, and use to action the necessary tasks on the ground.

Our goal is always to provide you with practical, achievable solutions so you can get the job done.

if we can help you deliver a project

Our expertise

Related Team

Director
As a Director, my focus at Xyst is across parks and recreation consulting, business development, managing staff, and strategic direction. I grew up in Vancouver, Canada, have lived and worked in Au...
Director
My primary role is to manage the team at Xyst’s Napier office and to assist our other consultants to bring innovative, best practice solutions for our clients. I have deep knowledge across the ke...
Senior Consultant
I support and assist councils and other entities to administer parks and reserves. Our shared goal is to protect, enhance and activate our public open space network in partnership with mana whenua ...
Director
My specialist field of expertise is asset management. I also provide planning and operational support to local government clients, allowing them to complete the parks and recreational projects that...
Senior Consultant
As a consultant, I have been involved with a mixture of parks planning, asset management, capital works delivery and programme management projects for councils, charitable trusts and Maori trusts. ...
Sport and Recreation Consultant
I am a detail-oriented and goal-driven individual, passionate about providing solutions in the sport, parks and recreation sector. I have been involved in projects spanning Aotearoa New Zealand and...
Senior Consultant
I support councils to develop clear policy and guidelines for managing public activities on public land. I do this by supporting council officers to manage natural and built assets, ensuring they a...
Senior Consultant
My key responsibility is project management of the Yardstick suite of benchmarking tools. This involves regular updates to the online tools on the Yardstick website, development of new survey and ben...
Senior Consultant
I am a highly experienced open space and local government professional, with more than 15 years’ experience in open space planning, including reserve management, master and concept planning, capi...
Recreation and Open Space Consultant
I am passionate about our sector and making a difference. I always produce work to the best of my ability and take the client on the journey with me. I like to positively challenge thinking and the...
Consultant
To assist councils and other agencies, I work with them to complete strategic and asset planning to help meet the recreational and open space needs of their communities. I also undertake project ma...
Graduate Consultant
Since starting with Xyst, I have worked alongside council to fill the role of Parks, Facilities and Customer Service Officer. This role manages the day-to-day operations of the council’s cemeteri...
Graduate Landscape Architect
As a landscape architect, I provide different types of plans according to the client’s requirements, the characteristics of the site, and make suggestions for future development. In social consul...
Associate
I provide expertise and an in-depth understanding of planning for parks. I am engaged to undertake assessments of parks and recreation provision, analysis of park acquisitions and business cases fo...
Senior Consultant
I have worked in local government in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, more recently overseeing the governance structure, stakeholder engagement and staff leadership within a primary health netwo...
Associate Consultant
I have over 30 years local government experience, holding a range of positions within community development, open space, recreation and sport and community assets portfolios. I was instrumental in de...
Senior Consultant
I am a parks professional with 40 years’ experience in the industry and a proven record of building strong relationships and implementing strategies that deliver results. I have worked extensively...
Associate
I have worked in parks management in local government in Australia for over 17 years, mainly in leadership roles. I am passionate about parks and the natural environment, and my aim is to connect and...
Senior Consultant
I have over 30 years’ experience in the horticulture, parks and open spaces, community facilities and customer service sectors. I have been involved in contract management, business development a...
Consultant
With over 15 years combined experience in natural resource management and arboriculture, I have been involved in a variety of projects within the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. This in...
Director
I founded Xyst in 2002 and since then we have grown the company to the scale it is today.  Currently I manage the Australian branch from Melbourne, focusing on identifying opportunities for our comp...

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