The City of Playford acknowledges the traditional land of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains. Their cultural heritage, beliefs and spiritual relationship with country are of continuing importance today. We pay our respects to Elders, past, present and emerging.

Educational activity packs

Thanks to local Aboriginal Artist, Scott Rathman, we have National Reconciliation Activity Packs that can be collected at various locations across the City.

The packs included educational material on the importance of the week, as well as, colouring and rainbow serpent activities for both young and old to create.

These packs can be collected at the our local libraries, Playford Civic Centre and Stretton Centre, and The Precinct.

Stolen Generation Memorial and Healing Garden

Did you know The City of Playford has a Stolen Generation Memorial and Healing Garden located within Stebonheath Park?

In 2008, 'The Apology' to the Stolen Generations was announced in an historic speech by the then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd.

Inspired by this event, two Stolen Generation Aboriginal women from the Playford area began the Circle of Hope, a support group for survivors of the Stolen Generation. The Circle of Hope were inspired to have a Memorial and Healing Garden established locally. It is a place of remembrance, reflection and respect towards Aboriginal people, their families and communities.

Artwork completed by the Circle of Hope and other members of the Stolen Generations can be seen in the Garden.

The City of Playford is proud to have a place of remembrance, reflection and respect for the whole community and hopes to broaden and deepen South Australia’s cultural richness.

To find out more click here.

Aboriginal public art locations

At the City of Playford, we are extremely proud of our public art collection.

We have a number of Aboriginal public art pieces that form part of this collection which we encourage you to visit.

From the 70m wall art display at the Adventure Playground in Blakes Crossing led by Scott Rathman to the piece standing tall at the Elizabeth Railway Station by Elizabeth Close.

This week in Tried & Tested Amy learns how our Sports & Property team are supporting local sporting facilities and clubs to operate safely. And she puts the Playford Tennis Centre's facilities to the test (with some very average skills).

The Annual Business Plan and Budget outlines the services and programs we will deliver to the community during the coming year, and is currently open for community consultation until 16 June.

Our Draft Annual Business Plan ensures we are supporting our city's growth, investing in renewal and securing our financial future. We have a strong commitment and plan for financial sustainability, and this is especially important for the year ahead given the pressures COVID-19 has placed on our community.

We understand Annual Business Plans can be complex, so over this consultation period we will be explaining what this plan means to you with regular social media posts so you remain informed and have an opportunity to have your say.

Here are some of the key things you need to know about this year’s draft Annual Business Plan:

- This budget is just one year of a decade long strategy for Council to manage its debt and become more sustainable. A key part of that strategy is to be break-even – and this budget delivers on that strategy. Break-even ensures that our debt from deficits won’t increase: we will only spend what we earn.

- 99% of the budget is being spent on our everyday service delivery - verge mowing, rubbish collection, roads and parks maintenance, community centres and libraries - the things that you have told us are important to you.

- 1% of the budget will go towards projects we have committed to, like the Virginia Main Street, and other initiatives which are important for us to do in the coming year (Stormwater Deeds, new Northern Adelaide School shared use facilities, footpath shading/tree replacement amongst others.)

- We are proposing a rate increase of .45% which equates to approximately $7* per year for a resident with a home valued at $242,000. The .45% will cover the State Government waste levy cost impost and still fund some of the important initiatives planned to support the growth and renewal of our City.

We are here to support you and encourage you to have a read over the plan and provide feedback at: https://playford.engagementhub.com.au/202021-draft-business-plans before consultation closes on June 16.

We understand Covid-19 has been a tough time for everyone and as restrictions ease and we return back to a new normal, we need to continue to remain future focused and work with you on what needs to be delivered in the 2020/21 year.

*Please note that the updated valuation data for 2020/21 is yet to be received from the Valuer-General. Therefore figures supplied are estimates only, until 2020/21 rates modelling can be completed.

The Stretton Centre has partnered with local business owner Kym Jarman, from Clever Approach to deliver a three-part series on how to create videos for business.

• 2pm on Wednesday, 3 June 2020 - Hints and tips on how to film, how to be filmed and how to film more than one person
• 2pm on Wednesday, 10 June 2020 - Preparation and planning
• 2pm on Wednesday, 17 June 2020 - Editing and publishing

Registration for this free video series is essential - register now.

To celebrate the reopening of both the Healthy Food Co stores, the City of Playford has developed an educational video series to help you and your family keep healthy and active.

In the first episode, our Healthy Communities Coordinator, Susan Petrie, gives you some handy tips on how to shop healthy on a budget from writing a shopping list to avoiding going to the store when hungry.

You can purchase some of those much needed grocery items or Easy Meals at our Healthy Food Co stores, which are currently operating at reduced hours from 10am to 3pm at the Smithfield Plains store on Coventry Road or the Elizabeth Downs store on Hamblynn Road.

For your continued safety, the team will be limiting the number of customers in store in accordance with social distancing requirements and while they continue to accept cash, it is strongly encouraged to make card payments.

The team can't wait to see you again!

The much anticipated Fremont Park Stage 2 works are well under way! It's very much a building site at present, but getting the foundations right is an important step.

Look forward to enjoying a brand new all abilities play space, full size basketball court, picnic areas, shelters with BBQ’s and significant landscaping. The new features will complement Playford’s already popular premier Civic Park.

The following works have occurred to date:

• All underground services completed
• Shelters erected
• Pathway and picnic area surfaces
• First pieces of play equipment installed
• Tree planting commenced

The installation of more play equipment and landscaping are the next steps. The expected completion date for Fremont Park Stage 2 works is July 2020.

This project is supported by a grant from the Department of the Premier and Cabinet and a DPTI Open Spaces and Places for People funding agreement.