Ku-ring-gai Council plan to turn East Roseville Bowling Club into housing, residents rally

Fresh backlash is brewing over a council plan to rezone a former community bowling club to make way for a new housing development with more than 700 people signing a petition.

Fresh backlash is brewing over a council plan to rezone a former community bowling club to make way for a new housing development.

More than 700 people have signed a petition calling for the former East Roseville Bowling Club to be retained as a community space in response to a Ku-ring-gai Council proposal to sell-off the site for redevelopment.

The club closed back in 2017 due to declining membership and is currently managed by the council.

Council plans show the rezoning would bankroll a list of council projects including the proposed Marian Street Theatre redevelopment.

Roseville resident Holly Cope is among residents rallying against the rezoning, calling for the site to be dedicated as community space.

A photo of the bowling greens.

“We’ve been using the site since the bowling club was closed and particularly in the last couple of years there have been more and more people using it,” she said.

“We have no other flat recreational space in Roseville for people to walk dogs, ride bikes and unless you travel into the Willoughby Council area there’s nowhere else.

The council is proposing units on the site.

“You see people sitting there with laptops and meetings outside, kids playing in small groups and for them to now proceed with taking it away I don’t believe the council is listening at all to the residents.

“It seems the council has committed the money (it would make from the sale) to other projects and their minds are made up.”

Kathy Cowley, Friends of Ku-ring-gai Environment, also believed the site should remain as open space.

“It’s essentially one of the only level areas suitable for a range of recreational activities that could be accommodated in a significantly sized park,” she said.

An artist’s impression of the development.

The club was founded in 1948.

“It delivers social benefits that outweigh its sale and once this land is sold, it will be lost forever and impossible to replace.”

The East Roseville Bowling Club, founded back in 1948, has been in Ku-ring-gai Council’s care since the club vacated in 2017.

A concept development master plan for the site shows new units would be built on the former bowling greens, as well as a new road running through the site connecting to Warrane Rd.

Local councillors this week voted to carry out a site inspection of the bowling club before making a final decision on the rezoning.

A council spokeswoman said there would also be an investigation into “the potential use of the (bowling club) as multi-sport facilities for the wider community.”

“This will depend on the level of remediation required and the costs involved,” she said.

The council is also investigating the future uses of the former Gordon Bowling Club which has also been proposed to be turned into new housing.