Randwick ratepayers lodge 50-page complaint over Snape Park Indoor Cricket Facility

An eastern suburbs council is accused of possible “behind-the-scenes dealings” with private stakeholders to fast-track a controversial indoor sporting facility, leaving residents irate.

An artists impresson of the outside of the facility. Picture: RandwickCouncil

Allegations of preferential treatment have been levelled against a Sydney council by ratepayers who claim they were left out of the planning process for a controversial indoor cricket facility.

The $6.3m proposal by Randwick Council is for an indoor training facility for cricket and rugby league at Snape Park in Maroubra, along with a new kiosk, public toilets and change rooms.

Originally the proposal was solely to upgrade outdated amenities at Snape Park, before it was according to one complainant, “hijacked” by plans for the indoor cricket facility, which allegedly first appeared as a notice-of-motion in August 2020 without further “adequate explanation or justification”.

The facility is controversial due to its proposed size, having been described as a “Bunnings-size monolith” while a petition doing the rounds has gained more than 1200 signatures.

Other objections cite traffic concerns, losing green space, and council funds being spent on a project for private sporting groups.

An artist’s impression of the interior of the facility. Picture: Randwick Council

Kingsford Smith federal Labor MP Matt Thistlethwaite, who committed $1m in federal funding, has also voiced his concerns over the project’s scope.

Now, animosity has reached new heights, with ratepayers lodging a 50-page-long complaint to council, with allegations of special treatment being given to stakeholders including Cricket NSW and Randwick Petersham Cricket Club.

An artists impression of the exterior of the facility. Picture: Randwick Council

The complaint alleges the community was excluded from planning, with stakeholders getting a seat at the table as far back as July 2022, when council papers referred to a need to “accommodate current and future stakeholders”.

Then in August, an email from council sent to Randwick Petersham Cricket Club, obtained by complainants lodging a freedom of information request, advised stakeholder consultation was underway to “obtain feedback on needs and requirements”.

Additionally, the cricket club’s 2021-2022 annual report referred to “exciting times ahead”, stating “we look to redevelop Snape Park and gain an indoor centre”.

Two years later, the club’s annual report thanked Randwick Council for “working tirelessly” on the “major project of the Snape Park indoor centre”.

An artists impression of the interior of the facility. Picture: Randwick Council

Meanwhile, community consultation did not begin until February 2025, when it ran for just a month, which critics saw as a “tick-a-box-exercise” rather than meaningful inclusion.

Stephen Hafer, who co-authored the complaint claimed he had the impression planning had “all been done by stealth”, and plans for the facility just “appeared”.

“We’ve got a new facility proposed with no needs assessment, no background, no discussion, it just appeared in a motion,” Mr Hafer said.

“There’s been no written information about where this came from, council will have you believe they just woke up one day and decided to go along with it … this is all being done by stealth.”

Similarly, Ilan Leshetz said the evidence gathered suggested “behind the scenes dealings” and “preferential treatment”.

“All the evidence we have suggests behind the scenes dealings socially and informally, as evidenced by the acknowledgments in the annual reports,” he claimed

“It appears as though there was preferential treatment, by working with the sporting club’s agenda instead of the community, they were off doing their own discussions long before the community even got wind of it, and when we did we only had a month to object.’

A spokesman for Cricket NSW said the organisation had been a stakeholder in the project for “several years”.

“As with similar projects across the state, Cricket NSW has provided strategic support to Randwick Petersham Cricket Club through facility guideline documentation and insights to ensure any design complies with current standards,” the spokesman said

A spokesman for Randwick Council said the consultation process was consistent with their Community Engagement Strategy,

“The proposal was open for public feedback from February 3 to March 3 2025, consistent with our adopted Community Engagement Strategy, which prioritises the importanceof early engagement with key stakeholders and user groups as standard practice.”

“The council understands and respects the views of residents acknowledging that while many people support the proposed indoor training facility, some residents do not.

“This feedback is being considered as part of the consultation review and will be reported to Council soon for consideration.”

Randwick Petersham Cricket Club did not respond to requests for comment.