North Head in Manly to stay in public ownership under Harbour Trust

The future of a number of iconic sites around Sydney Harbour including North Head at Manly has been revealed.

• Northern Beaches Council’s vision to open up North Head
• Shock twist in $1m sustainability centre planned for North Head

An independent review of some of Sydney’s most iconic sites including North Head has found they should remain in public ownership forever under the management of the Harbour Trust.

Chairman of the trust Joseph Carrozzi, said the review had recommended that the Harbour Trust, which was established by the Federal Government in 2001 to manage and protect former Commonwealth lands, should continue to operate as an ongoing entity.

Buildins at North Head are falling into disrepair. Picture: (AAP/Image Matthew Vasilescu)

“This is a great result for our community – and a great result for Sydney,” Mr Carrozzi said.

“The community originally rallied together to protect these amazing sites and to ensure they remained in public ownership and accessible to all Australians, which led to the formation of the Harbour Trust in 2001.

Joseph Carrozzi, chairman of the Harbour Trust. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“Since then, the Harbour Trust has worked hand in glove with the community, including our hundreds of volunteers, to progressively transform, rehabilitate and maintain sites such as Headland Park, North Head, Cockatoo Island and more recently, Sub Base Platypus.

“I am delighted these sites are now protected for all Australians to enjoy into the future.

“With this announcement, we look forward to receiving confirmation on funding in the upcoming budget process which will allow us to address a backlog of work and allow for greater public access and enjoyment to our sites – particularly Cockatoo Island and North Head Sanctuary.

Some of the buildings are quite neglected and have fallen into disrepair at North Head.(AAP/Image Matthew Vasilescu)

“This review ensures that there will not be any privatisation of Harbour Trust assets, which has been the Harbour Trust’s strongly-held position since our inception.”

The Manly Daily revealed last week that Northern Beaches Council want to help reactivate North Head by opening it up to the public through open air concerts and an outdoor cinema, as well as creating indoor sporting facilities in some of the many unused buildings.

Manly MP James Griffin said the site had sat mainly vacant since 2006 and that money was needed to bring it to life.

“It’s been long enough that these buildings have been in the shape they have,” he said.

“It’s time to get going.”