Pennant Hills Cricket Club: Hornsby councillors divided over calls to end Sunday oval use

A controversial effort to strip a cricket club of its right to play games at a leading sporting facility over concerns the majority of its members were out-of-towners has led to a fiery debate.

The cricket club’s use of the oval has come under question.

Councillors have clashed over a proposal to block a cricket club playing games at a local sporting facility over concerns the majority of its members are “non Hornsby residents”.

The Pennant Hills Cricket Club has defended its right to play games at Pennant Hills Park after councillor Nathan Tilbury called for the council to withdraw the cricket clubs’ access to the oval for this season’s Sunday games.

Mr Tilbury has claimed the majority of the cricket club draws its members from outside the local government area, and therefore the sporting facility would instead be better allocated to local residents, grassroots clubs and for junior and women's sport.

The move has sparked a fiery response from his fellow councillors including Emma Heyde who labelled the move an “attack” on the Pennant Hills Cricket Club.

But Mr Tilbury said the club – which plays in the Sydney shire competition – would still be able to play on Saturdays and that reallocating the venue would better serve Hornsby residents.

A photo of Pennant Hills Park.

“The amount of Hornsby shire residents that play in the fifth and sixth grades is close to zero and frankly we need a better spend for our rates to ensure ratepayers have access to these facilities,” he said. “We also need to provide facilities for female development cricket which is screaming out for new and improved facilities.

“For the council to have the oval tied up for nonresidents in my opinion is unacceptable.”

Councillor Nathan Tilbury.

Pennant Hills Cricket Club president Sterling Hamman has spoken out against the proposed Sunday ban, calling for the council to maintain the current playing arrangements.

He said the club has played at the oval for 40 years and that strict rules for the Sydney shire club championships stipulate the club must stage games on Sundays.

He said withdrawing the Sunday allocation would therefore “dispossess” its members for the remainder of this year’s season.

Mr Hamman – speaking at Hornsby’s last council meeting – could not say exactly how many of its members live within the local government area, but estimated that of its 230 members about 70 per cent live within the Hornsby and the two adjacent Ku-ring-gai and Hills Shire Council regions.

The club plays at the site on Saturdays and Sundays.

Figures from Cricket NSW supplied to Hornsby Council, show 10.5 per cent of clubs members resided in the Hornsby local government area last season.

Cr Hyde said scheduling sporting fixtures was also a “highly complex job” and that withdrawing the club’s access could open up the council to financial or legal risk.

Councillor Monika Ball also opposed the withdrawal of the current arrangements, labelling it “deplorable” and “disgusting treatment of a longstanding sporting group”.

Mr Tilbury’s proposal was defeated by a majority of councillors at Hornsby’s last council meeting – however he was confident the matter would be reconsidered at a future councillor briefing before the start of the next cricket season.

He described the Sunday shire competition – founded in 1923 – as a second-tier antiquated competition that is no longer relevant in the modern era, and that prioritising local use of the facility would compensate residents for the council’s decision to impose a shock 30-per cent rate increase which came into effect this year.

“I’m confident the club will be told this will be their last season playing Sunday games at the site,” he said.