Dubbo Regional Councillor Josh Black has once again made his feelings very clear when it comes to the Regand Park masterplan.

With a predicted shortfall of 130 hectares of area for passive open space and 19.4 hectares for sporting fields by 2030, the DRC councillor has decided it's time to do something about it.

His motion to have the Chief Executive Officer produce a report detailing all available council owned or administered land that could be used for passive open space and sporting fields, was passed unanimously, albeit reluctantly.

The report is expected to come to council at the same time as the Regand Park masterplan drafts are brought forward.

Cr Black said he had read a number of strategic council documents and what "screamed" out to him was how they had put the "kart in front of the horse" in regards to the river precinct master plan.

"We've got the process back to front, the wrong way round, we've gone off half cocked," he said.

Cr Black said they need to look holistically at the whole city for where passive recreation and sporting fields could go instead of just one particular location.

"Obviously what should have happened was the relevant strategic plans and other documents needed to be updated with the latest population trends and future subdivision and growth areas of the city need to be updated," he said.

Only after discussing the best location for future green space and liaising with sporting organisations with "actual data" on predicted future needs can a location be decided, Cr Black said.

"It's alright to say 'we need eight football fields' or something like that, but where is the actual data?" he asked.

For St John's JRLFC, which has continued to grow in numbers for both men and women, playing the sport has meant sharing the facilities has become the norm.

"Currently playing in the Dubbo competition, we have one field per 550 players, we have three ovals at Apex Oval and that's all we have," St John's JRLFC spokesperson John Walkom said.

"That just shows we need more ovals to play junior rugby league and that's just junior, not counting seniors."

With an expected increase in passive open space, Cr Black said his motion seeks to give updated information, so they can make an informed decision when looking at the masterplan for Regand Park.

"We can make a holistic decision informed with all of the data not just looking at the one little strip with tunnel vision," he said.

With concerns from the community growing, Cr Black said they have to address these concerns.

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"Nowhere in the documents I read was there mention of Regand Park being used for future sporting facilities...we wouldn't be having this conversation if St John's [JRLFC] hadn't had the grant awarded," he said.

"We need to make the best decision for Dubbo...we need to look at the whole city."

Cr Black said he wished they had all the information from the start and had looked city wide from the beginning.

"We shouldn't be making decisions based on feelings, we should be making decisions based on the data," he said.

"A lot of people walk up and down the river, not many people walk up and down the playing fields at Lady Cutler, just something I've noted."

Deputy mayor Richard Ivey said he supported the motion but didn't support 'a lot' of what Cr Black said.

"I don't think we've put the kart before the horse," he said.

"I do agree we need information about the supply and future demand, and should take that information into an account when making final decision on the masterplan for the river precinct."

Cr Ivey said he didn't think the council had to go off and do new studies to find out about the population growth in Dubbo.

"I think the information is there...it does need to be drawn together and put in with other information...as it is presented at the same time as the [Regand Park] masterplan we can really achieve something," he said.

Councillor Matthew Wright said it was "great" to have a growing city and the need to provide these facilities for an active community but the masterplan from 2018 should have a 10 year life span and there won't have been any "significant" changes.

"I think this motion will please the anxiety and accusations that are being made in the social media space," he said.

Cr Wright noted the motion stated 'that council is committed to achieving the best outcome based on the most accurate data and is not working to a rigid or predetermined timeframe' and he hoped residents would understand that.

Cr Black said updating the community would make them happier and lead to a better outcome.

"Council isn't running to a timeframe other than their own," he said.

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