EThekwini Parks Department Home Page

Parks with varying ornamental and floral diplays and special recreation features can be found throughout the city suburbs:

• The Durban Botanic Gardens
• Jameson Park
• Durban North Japanese Gardens
• Mitchell Park and Zoo

Mission Statement

The effective Development and Management of Parks, Open Spaces and Natural areas to meet community needs.

Core Functions

To Plan, Organize, Develop, Maintain and Control the following resources:-

• Open space
• Road medians and islands
• Verges
• Suburban Sports fields and surrounds
• Urban parks
• Major parks - Zoo Mitchell Park and Botanic Gardens
• Nurseries and plant production
• Conservation of natural areas and nature reserves
• Street Trees

The Purpose of the Parks Department

One of the most important services provided by the Local Councils in the field of recreation and environmental protection is the development and maintenance of a park and open space system.

Scattered throughout the City are parks and recreational open spaces covering over 6000 hectares that fall under the jurisdiction of the North and South Central Local Councils. This area includes:

• Nine major natural system parks
• Several small nature reserves
• The 14.5 ha Durban Botanical Gardens, with its world renowned collections of orchids, cycads, palms and bromeliads.
• 60 other parks of horticultural and floral attraction.
• Over 160 recreational playing fields.
• Numerous children's playgrounds.
• Beaches and public lawn areas.

Many of these open spaces fall within the Durban Metropolitan Open Space System which is a planned system which ecologically links some 2 100 ha of open space, including nine parks, river valleys and coastal land.

This open space within the City is administered by the Parks Department of the Parks, Recreation and Culture Service Unit. In addition to the establishment, maintenance and administration of this extensive network of recreational open space, the department also cares for over 700 000 street trees, maintains some 4 million m2 of verge in the City and enforces clearance of overgrowth on undeveloped land in private ownership.

Unfortunately, not all residents of the city have equal access to recreational open space and to rectify this situation the Department is now also involved in the development of areas that previously fell outside the jurisdiction of the City of Durban, namely, Ntuzuma, KwaMashu, Inanda, Chesterville, Lamontville and Umlazi. All these areas now have capital projects underway to provide services such as parks, playlots and street trees.

The Department has a good, although not evenly, developed system of parks, open space, and plant production systems, which are supported by a Department with a high level of expertise and a well trained staff.