Warringah Golf club to relocate as part of revamped plan for multi-purpose sport precinct
Plans have been set in motion to relocate the Warringah Golf Club clubhouse to the Warringah Recreation Centre site, despite some concerns raised.
Warringah Golf Club could soon undergo a major transformation after the council supported a proposal to relocate the clubhouse across the road to a new multi-sport complex.
It comes after Northern Beaches Council offered the club a 20-year lease last year, which guaranteed the 18-hole course would remain after years of uncertainty about its future.
The District Park site has been mired in controversy, after a 2016 plan by then-administrator Dick Persson to demolish — or halve — Warringah golf course to help meet the needs of other sporting clubs.
A previous plan to build a clubhouse with developer Arena REIT fell apart in 2018 and the future of the site has been in limbo since.
Now there are hopes the development could lead to the establishment of a much bigger sporting precinct on the northern beaches which would consolidate existing clubhouses.
The concept includes a modern multipurpose sporting and community facility in District Park and a potential carpark.
Council papers have referred to the state of the existing recreation centre site as “average” and “in need of rejuvenation”.
To fund the construction of a new clubhouse the golf club would have to sell the current site at 397 Condamine St, Allambie Heights.
President Scott Campbell said the club were excited to reach this point.
“Back in the day, the council wanted to turn our 18 holes into a nine hole course and sporting fields but that changed with this council,” Mr Campbell said.
“Now we’re moving forward and have been working closely with the council to achieve a good outcome, not only for us but for the community.
“With this relocation, it will allow us to invest much more money into the course as a community asset and we’d like to be able to work with other users of the precinct and make sure it's a real sporting club and to move emphasis away from just golf.”
He said the next step is to submit a development application once a concept plan is finalised. “We’re trying to make it more attractive to the younger generations and bring it into 21st century.
“The public doesn’t use our current clubhouse which is away from the site. We want to move adjacent to the golf course so we have that direct interaction between the club and outdoor family areas.”
While the outcome from the February council meeting was a victory for Warringah Golf Club, a number of representatives from the community including a tennis group — also a tenant on the site — referred to concerns, claiming they had been left out of the consultation process.
In response, long time campaigner for the golf club, Councillor Pat Daley, urged the council to move forward.
“This had been dragging on for years now,” Cr Daley said in the February council meeting.
“There’s been a lot of money spent on community consultation under the old Warringah council. I suggest that we move forward with the recommendation and in the final analysis if councillors and tennis are not happy with that process they can make representations and it can be overturned but let’s just move forward with what we’ve got.”
Mayor Michael Regan agreed with Cr Daley.
“We’ve had briefing after briefing and come to the conclusion they should be on the site there, it is a concept, it is a building.
“The concept tonight is we approve the golf club moving to 10 per cent of the site. I think we’ve heard from our community loud and clear... So I think it’s potentially a win-win for everyone.”
Cr Regan told the Manly Daily he was happy with the outcome.
“It’s a great outcome for the community and golf club — they have some certainty about where its new club can be and relocate with confidence.
“Council is very open minded, we’ll play it by ear. There’s no reason why tennis, squash, futsal and golf can’t all coexist there.”
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