VALUABLE council resources are being diverted to maintain unused open space, a major review has revealed.

Southern Downs Regional councillors were yesterday briefed on the progress of a consultant's report on service levels in the parks department, which shows staff are stretched to the limit.

The report by Orion Consulting shows annual council spending per ratepayer on our parks is around the $80 mark, well below the State average of $170, despite the region having more hectares of parkland than councils of similar size.

Likewise of concern is the amount of council time being taken up mowing its non-park lands, along with drainage reserves in new housing estates and other open space not useable as parkland.

Sporting leases have also come under the microscope, with the consultants suggesting council should not be mowing leased playing fields as it does in Stanthorpe, with council locked into some leases until the end of the century.

But perhaps most glaring is the overall budget "spend" on mowing of open spaces deemed "low-use", at around $250,000 per year, swallowing up nearly a quarter of the mowing budget.

Orion Consulting's David Spearritt told councillors they needed to critically examine where money was being spent and look at opportunities for greater efficiencies.

"You need to ask yourselves if you should be mowing vacant land which is not used as park or sell it off on the private market," Mr Spearritt said.

"This could save around $80,000 a year, which might be better spent elsewhere.

"When it comes to sporting fields, you may find it is cheaper, say, to donate a ride-on mower to a sporting club which leases council land, rather than it be tied up in staff costs of between $60,000 and $70,000 a year.

"Council approaches to leased areas really vary across the state - some councils don't have a bar of them."

Mr Spearritt acknowledged that factors such as the topography and location of some parks made maintenance more expensive, quoting the example of Weeroona Park at Stanthorpe costing 19 cents per square metre to mow a year due to landscaping, compared to Leslie Park in Warwick at just nine cents.

The "benchmark" figure is 10 cents.

Mr Spearritt also noted the growing trend of council taking on responsibility for mowing drainage "basins" in new housing estates, which these days are commonly "natural" rather than concrete-piped.

Planning director Ken Harris said an immediate challenge was to provide new parkland in expanding urban areas.

He also questioned if the public had too high an expectation when it came to mowing, with Leslie and others cut up to 34 times a year.

Mayor Ron Bellingham said residents would continue to expect a high standard of service regardless of whether they lived in Warwick, Stanthorpe or the region's numerous villages.

He said developments like the Warwick Green Belt and a demand for more sporting fields at Killarney had all helped to stretch the parks budget over the years.