Lane Cove Council pushes ahead with $75m sporting hub at Lane Cove Country Club

Plans to add a sports facilities to the site of a north shore golf club are dividing opinions among local residents as councillors push head with developing the contentious project.

Environmental groups, tennis players and a sailing champion are among the latest residents to add their voice to the debate over a major redevelopment of a north shore golf club.

A $75 million proposal by Lane Cove Council for a new sport and recreational facility at the Lane Cove Country Club is continuing to divide opinions among residents as local councillors push ahead with the contentious project.

The development includes building four indoor and four multipurpose outdoor courts and community facilities at the site of the existing club building.

Current designs show the facility would be able to be used by sporting groups such as basketball and netball and would result in the reduction of 780sq m from the first hole of the golf course.

Supporters of the project say it could address a dire need for sporting facilities in Lane Cove, with some local clubs currently forced to travel outside the council area to access available spaces.

A concept plan of the facility.

But opponents argue it could cause environmental damage on sensitive bushland as well as exacerbate traffic congestion on River Rd.

There is also criticism of the hefty price tag that would require the council taking out a $10 million loan to partly bankroll the project.

The proposal was given an airing at two council meetings in the last fortnight where councillors ultimately voted to progress planning work on the new facility.

Adrienne Cahalan is critical of the project.

Longueville resident Adrienne Cahalan – a world class navigator who became the first woman to sail 25 Sydney to Hobart Races – spoke against the proposal due to environmental impacts and the project’s cost.

“Lane Cove is a little oasis in the city and it’s like someone will be putting a bulldozer through the place,” she said. “Everybody understands the need for sporting facilities but Lane Cove doesn’t have to turn into Sydney Olympic Park.

A photo of the current clubhouse.

“One of my greatest concerns is the impact on the flood plain. At the moment the stability is there in major rain events but when the facility is built it will unbalance the watercourse of the valley resulting in flooding from extreme weather events.

“Think of the Lismore Floods – don’t think it won’t happen to us.

Residents have also raised concerns over potential loss of trees and impacts on rare species of fungi found at the golf club.

“The golf course is an ecosystem so to rip it to shreds and wreck the perfect harmony of nature would break so many people’s hearts,” Raphaela Cahalan Griffith said.

A current plan of the development.

“It would cost $75 million – for that we could plant 750,000 trees or we could even just donate the money to a community cause that actually needs it.

“When it comes to the cost of trees and killing innocent animals, it’s not worth it.”

Resident Damian Beasley – a supporter of the project – believed the facility would achieve “decades of maximised use and community wellbeing benefits” and pointed to the results of a petition that had more than 700 residents calling for the project to go ahead.

His daughter, Tiana, aged 9, told the council meeting the indoor courts would support local athletes and sporting groups which currently have limited access to indoor facilities.

A design plan of the new indoor sports facilities.

“Often my basketball training gets cancelled when it’s raining. Please build the indoor courts so I have a place to train even when it’s raining,” she said.

Lane Cove West Tennis Club president Neil Cooper raised concerns over impacts on the existing River Road Tennis Centre, located at the golf club, that would be replaced with the new outdoor multipurpose courts as part of the development.

“At the moment we have five floodlit courts. Where are those tennis players going to go when they become multi-use courts?” he said.

“There are netball hoops at each end, no tennis nets, it’s just not suitable for adults to play tennis on”.

Lane Cove Mayor Andrew Zbik said the project was still in its early stages.

Lane Cove Council reports state the facility would benefit multiple sporting codes and community groups as well having “economic, health and social benefits on a subregional scale”.

Council reports also stated the project would also address the “high operational cost and poor quality” of current facilities at the site.

Lane Cove councillor Merri Southwood – who has concerns over the cost of the development – called for an independent feasibility study and cost benefit analysis before further planning work is undertaken.

But her calls were rejected by a majority of councillors including Scott Bennison who said there had already been multiple studies and reports conducted into the feasibility of the project during the current and previous term of the council.

The development would encroach on to sections of the golf club.

Mayor Andrew Zbik recognised there had been mixed opinions about the development, but stressed residents would be able to provide further feedback as plans are progressed.

“There are a lot of questions that are legitimate from the community and a lot of those will be clarified as well go through the process,” he said.

“This is essentially step one of another four resolutions that would have to come before the council before we commence construction on this project.”

The next stages of the development include the completion of a development application, assessment of the project by the Sydney North Planning Panel, and a procurement process.

If approved, the project is expected to open in mid 2025.