A rugby club wants to destroy a local sports field in a bold plan to build a house and a park because residents don’t use it.
North Ryde RSL and Eastwood Rugby have proposed plans to build 132 terraced houses and a private park at the privately owned TG Milner Field in Marsfield.
A spokesman said the RSL and rugby clubs have the right to structure seniors’ lives under existing planning rules, but that the proposal is better for the community.
He said the rugby field was not of interest to new residents from China, India, South Korea and the Philippines, where “rugby is not popular.”
Developers behind plans for ‘Marsfield Commons’ claim the site has reached its current lifespan in terms of current uses and needs to be updated (pictures, artist impressions)
Ryde’s liberal MP (right) and Mayor Ryde Jordan Lane (left) opposed the plan.
The developers behind the plans for “Marsfield Commons” claimed that the site had reached the end of its life and needed updating.
“68% of local communities have ancestry from countries where the sport of rugby is rarely heard of,” claims a statement on its website.
“Only 4% of Eastwood rugby players live within the Ryde LGA.”
However, Ryde Victor Dominero’s liberal deputies and mayor have openly opposed the plan, with local deputies denouncing the plan as “totally unacceptable.”
Dominello said Sydney’s publicly accessible open spaces are priceless and once rebuilt there is no going back.
“That’s why we must fight to save TG Milner Field for future generations,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“If plan supporters believe rugby is no longer popular, we need to work together to accommodate other sports.”
Ride Mayor Jordan Lane is also wary of the development, telling the newspaper that TG Milner is “the best field worth preserving.”
The proposed plan’s website explains that the demographics and needs of the local community have “changed significantly in recent decades.”
A spokesman said the RSL and rugby clubs have the right to build a life for the elderly under existing planning regulations and claimed to have strong support in the community (photos, plans).
“Sadly, privately owned TG Milner is no longer strongly associated with the community that surrounds it,” it reads.
“TG Milner Field has reached the end of its life in terms of rugby and sanctioned club use and needs to be renewed to benefit the community.
“Local schools have used the field only 10 times in the last three years. Local rugby clubs in Ryde, Beecroft and Central Eastwood have used the field only 12 times in three years, including youth rugby. I didn’t.”
The proposal promises to provide state-of-the-art site-appropriate housing, recreational spaces for the community, increased tree canopy, vegetation and landscaping, and new public parks.
North Ryde RSL and Eastwood Rugby have also pledged $1 million to develop a synthetic field in the Ryde area.
“This $1 million donation to LGA’s synthetic field will provide local children of all ages with the perfect playing surface year-round,” the website claims.
Ride MP Victor Dominero said having publicly accessible open space in Sydney was invaluable and once it’s gone it can’t be regained (pictures, plans)
TG Milner Field is exclusively used by players of the Ryde Eastwood Hawks Rugby League Club on Sundays.
However, football operations manager Michael Frain said the local club would have no place to play if the development was given the green light.
The proposal is in the hands of local council officials, many of whom previously voted against the removal of the LGA’s green space.
The mayor said Ryde needs 13 more sport ovals by 2036 to keep up with demand and population growth.
“Destroying one of the largest existing open spaces would significantly set back this cause,” Lane said.
.
Comments
Post a Comment