A federal government agency faces a backlash from sports clubs, conservation groups, local MPs and councillors over plans to revamp the historic precinct at Middle Head with new food and beverage facilities and the capacity to host large events.
Meanwhile, the government will provide $45.2 million for the headland’s custodian, the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, in Tuesday’s budget to address a backlog of critical repairs at the nine sites it manages – particularly Cockatoo Island, where the seawall is cracked and pylons eroded.
A damaged sea wall at Cockatoo Island.Credit:
Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek accused the previous government of “a decade of hostility and neglect” regarding the sites, which include North Head Sanctuary, Sub Base Platypus and Woolwich Dock. More than half the money is earmarked to replace rotting wharves and docks.
The trust is due to release a master plan for the most degraded site, Cockatoo Island, this year. But in an indication of the sensitivity surrounding these former defence sites, it is also dealing with fallout from its draft Middle Head master plan, unveiled in March, that aims to attract more visitors to the area.
The trust’s executive director, Janet Carding, said the “small and careful” changes would help people appreciate the precinct’s natural, Indigenous and military significance.
But local stakeholders reacted angrily, especially to a proposed reorientation of Middle Head Oval and a new pavilion and walking track along the oval’s perimeter, which they fear will shrink the playing field.
“It just doesn’t work for us”: Richard Pike, president of Mosman Football Club, pictured at Middle Head Oval.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
In a submission, Mosman Council said it was “extremely disappointing” and unacceptable for the trust to encroach upon the oval, and these intentions were never disclosed during consultations.
Mosman Football Club president Richard Pike said the facilities needed replacing as they were putrid, outdated and shunned by players. But he said shrinking the field and reducing car parking was not the answer. “It just doesn’t work for us, or the AFL, or for the local community.”
The federal independent MP for Warringah, Zali Steggall, echoed those concerns in her submission, urging that proposed changes to the oval, guardhouse and facilities “not move forward at this time”.
Steggall backed other parts of the plan, chiefly the revamp of the 10 Terminal buildings that housed army regiments from 1941 to 1997, and said this element should proceed immediately.
Middle Head, with the 10 Terminal buildings in the centre, the oval to the right and HMAS Penguin behind the oval.Credit: Nick Moir
“Let’s capitalise on the areas of agreement,” she said. “The priority has to be the buildings that need activation because they’ve been left empty for so long.”
In response to these concerns, the trust says it will ensure there are no changes to the size of the field. It said it held a constructive meeting with Mosman Council, which has a long-standing lease of the oval, and all feedback would be carefully considered.
The trust also faces blowback from conservation activists such as the Headland Preservation Group, which fought off a proposed aged-care facility at Middle Head in 2013.
President Jill L’Estrange said the master plan was so light on detail she surmised it was “an attempt to hoodwink the community into giving up its right to approve the plan”, and called on Plibersek to intervene.
Christelle and Dany at their Middle Head Cafe in 2017.Credit: Edwina Pickles
The group “does not support new buildings in the historic Middle Head precinct” and wants at least one of the three semi-derelict barracks slated for demolition to be retained “to complete the story of the military village”.
L’Estrange’s organisation has long held concerns about the de facto privatisation of SHFT assets under long-term leases enabled by legislative changes in 2021. Then opposition leader Anthony Albanese spoke against 49-year leases at the time.
There is also animosity about the potential demolition of Middle Head Cafe, run by husband-and-wife team Dany and Christelle. An online petition to save the cafe has nearly 2000 signatures, and the couple told their local paper they were “surprised” and hoped the trust would reconsider.
In a statement, the trust said any demolition would be in the long term, and it wanted a cafe to remain somewhere at Middle Head – possibly within a proposed “interpretation centre”. Public consultation on the draft master plan closes on Tuesday.
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