Hunters Hill Council to spend $4.75m on tiny park

One of Sydney’s smallest and richest council areas may have to pave a tiny park ‘with gold’ after the state government threw $4.75 million at them.

It’s a problem every other Sydney council can only dream of having — a state government grant so large for a park so small they will have to “pave it with gold” to spend it all.

Hunters Hill, one of Sydney’s smallest and richest council areas, was left bewildered by a whopping $4.75 million grant for its tiny 6994sq m Figtree Park.

Hunters Hill Mayor Ross Williams said they were given the cash to upgrade the park under the $250m public spaces legacy program, which was meant to be an incentive for councils to process development applications quicker.

But the rules around the grant mean they are unable to acquire land to increase its size.

Overwhelming community sentiment means it will be limited to building toilet blocks, installing “a few pieces of play equipment” and sourcing some public art.

Hunters Hills Mayor Ross Williams

“I’m curious as to how that large sum of money would be reasonably or sensibly spent in a small fit for purpose park,” he said of the park, which is roughly the size of a soccer field.

“You could spend that sort of money if you paved it with gold. The state government makes the rules.

“The conditions of the grant prohibits spending on the acquisition of land.

“A large proportion of the community are looking for the park to have some enhancements but to maintain the current qualities of the park.”

Figtree Park at Hunters Hill is just 6994sq m and needs few improvements.

“It just seems crazy to be spending such a huge amount of money on a quiet little park that needs very few improvements,” Hunters Hill resident David Salter said.

“The local community have made their view pretty clear. Leave our park as it is.”

The council is proposing to rename the park Reibey’s Green in honour of Mary Reibey, a Hunters Hill businesswoman from the 1830s. Her face is on the $20 note.

“Renaming the park after her seems pretentious and unnecessary,” Mr Salter said.

The grant program was a reward to councils that significantly improved the time it takes them to process development applications.

Mary Reiby on the $20 note.

The funding supported 60 successful council proposals for more than 100 projects.

Waverley Council got $4.75m to make significant upgrades to part of the Bondi to Manly Walk while The Hills Shire Council got the same amount for a new community centre and playspace at Anthony Skarratt Reserve in Box Hill.

Hunters Hill received $4.75m when it has a total population of 12,690, which equates to a grant of $374 per head.

Under the same program, Canterbury-Bankstown received a $5.5m grant for its population of 296,400. That gave them just $19 per head.

The botched council amalgamation policy, finalised in 2017, has left Sydney with a hodgepodge collection of councils of different sizes.

Apart from the Northern Beaches, mostly affluent Liberal strongholds successfully stopped amalgamation in Sydney, while Labor-dominated areas didn’t.

Planning Minister Rob Stokes said “if Hunters Hill don’t want the $4m, we’ll happily take it back and give it to Western Sydney”.

GRANT WINNERS

● Northern Beaches Council $4.75m

A new boardwalk and connecting trails at Manly Dam.

● Waverley Council $4.75m

Bondi to Manly Walk upgrades including widened paths, seating, boardwalks, heritage interpretation, landscaping, lighting, viewing platforms stairs, and Waverley Park improvements.

● Willoughby City Council $4.75m

Artarmon town centre open space and civic plaza improvement.

● The Hills Shire Council $4.75m

A new community centre and playspace at Anthony Skarratt Reserve in Box Hill and a new playground at Bella Vista Farm Park.

● Woollahra Municipal Council $4.75m

A new pedestrianised public plaza in Knox St, Woollahra.

● Cumberland City Council $5.5m

A new Merrylands Civic Square.

● Canterbury-Bankstown Council $5.5m

More trees, integrated seating and comprehensive play equipment in the Bankstown CBD’s Paul Keating Park Precinct.

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