Planners keep Terrey Hills $4.2m golf driving range upgrade on hold
Northern beaches golfers will have to wait a little longer for a much-anticipated $4m upgrade of a popular driving range after authorities put the plans on hold.
Manly
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A multimillion upgrade to a popular Sydney golf driving range has been put on hold by planning authorities to allow discussions about which colour netting to use
Plans for the proposed $4.2 million refurbishment of the Golf Paradise complex at Terrey Hills include 42m-high netted fencing to stop balls ending up in the neighbouring Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.
However, development approval has temporarily stalled because the new owners of the facility on Myoora Rd have suggested using black netting, instead of the originally proposed white-coloured nets.
The new owners of Golf Paradise, the Swing Factory, have told the Northern Beaches Local Planning Panel, which is examining the development application, that the proposed netting it wants to use was not available in white.
Swing Factory submitted a report to the panel that the black netting it wants was designed to be relatively soft and “in the unlikely event” a bird flew into it “they are able to bounce off the net and not get caught”.
As part of its plans, originally lodged with Northern Beaches Council, the new owners want to increase the height of the nets from 25m to 42m.
It also wants to build a new 18-hole minigolf course and increase the size of the alcohol-friendly area, including the driving bays and minigolf course, as well as its fully-licensed restaurant.
If it gets the go-ahead, each of the 58 bays on the two-tier driving range will have “Toptracer” technology that allows golfers to follow the trajectory and distance of each ball they hit.
In documents lodged with council, Swing Factory stated that the refurbished facility would give the northern beaches an “innovative golf entertainment and hospitality experience”.
Plans also include seven synthetically turfed target greens; improvements to the outdoor entertainment area and; the conversion of existing baseball nets to a children’s playground.
Swing Factory also wants to add another nine-hole mini golf course as part of stage two of the development.
The facility wants to open from 7:00am to 12:30am, with the mini golf and driving range hitting bays open from 7:00am to 11:00pm.
If approved, Swing Golf will be able to accommodate 285 people at full capacity, with up to 17 employees during peak periods.
Last week, the LPP deferred a decision to give Swing Factory a chance to submit more information on the visual impact of the netting “from the residential areas located across the valleys north of the site and from within the adjoining national park”.
The council has told the panel that if the black netting was allowed, there should be white, or brightly coloured flags along the top of the nets that adjoin the national park, spaced between 3-5m apart, to help warn birds about the fence.
In a submission on June 5, Swing Factory said it was “agreeable to providing flagging along the top of the netting along the boundary that joins the national park”.
The panel will determine the application electronically, unless its chair decides that a further public meeting is required.
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