Mosman Council turfs idea for artificial grass at Middle Head Oval
A HEATED Mosman Council meeting saw the council backflip on a decision from March 2016 which supported a development application for synthetic turf at Middle Head Oval.
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A COUPLE of major sports clubs were reeling after Mosman Council’s shock backflip on the previous council’s decision to support a development application (DA) for synthetic turf at Middle Head Oval.
About 100 people crowded into the public gallery in the council meeting last week. Most wore “The Active Majority” T-shirts in support of an artificial playing surface.
The sports clubs and environmentalists, representing each side of the long-running, emotional debate, each had six speakers.
Speakers for Mosman Football Club and Mosman Swans contended that the unreliable, injury-causing natural surface of Middle Head Oval was unable to keep up with demand.
Headland Preservation Group (HPG) and Mosman Parks and Bushland Association speakers, however, warned of the irreversible “dangers” of artificial turf to nature and people’s health.
But the 5-2 vote in favour of synthetic turf in March 2016 was history, after about 90 minutes of debate, as councillors voted 5-2 for a new “best practice natural turf surface” at the oval.
Only councillors Libby Moline and Simon Menzies supported the resumption of work on the synthetic turf DA, for submission to the Harbour Trust.
The 5-2 vote also supported upgrade works worth $40,000 to $50,000 for winter 2018, and a plan to spend up to $400,000 for a “complete turf redevelopment” in time for winter 2019.
HPG founding president Linda Bergin, OAM, praised the council’s decision.
“A brave and wise Mosman Council has done the right thing for the headland, for sport, for the plants and animals, for future generations of park-goers, for Mosman and for all Australians,” Ms Bergin said.
Mosman FC president Louise Walker said the majority vote had “succumbed to the misleading fear campaign” of HPG and wasted almost three years of work on the proposal.
“Other councils have tried this route before, thereby wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars before deciding that an all-weather surface is instead the more sensible choice,” Ms Walker said.
Mosman Swans facilities manager Justin Dethridge said the club was frustrated by a “less than transparent” process and that little work had been done to objectively assess all options, but the club welcomed the funding.
“Empirical evidence would suggest that hesitation on committing to all-weather surfaces leads to serious returfing programs; that eventually leads to all-weather surfaces. The most obvious example is Gore Hill Oval at St Leonards,” Mr Dethridge said.
HPG president Tim James said the decision was a “win-win” for the community.
“Mosman Council has come to a sensible, beneficial, balanced decision that will serve all of the interests involved. Based on examples both locally and beyond, there are many reasons to believe this is a viable, long-term solution,” Mr James said.
“HPG is for sport, community and health. We recognise and respect the interests of local sporting clubs. We believe Middle Head Oval should be the best natural turfed oval in the country.”