‘Reason to move out of the suburb’: Golfers at war with council over sporting complex

North Shore residents and golfers are at war with their local council over plans to build a $52 million sporting facility on the edge of a golf course, claiming it will ruin the first hole and drive people out of the area.

Lane Cove Sport and Recreation Facility would include five indoor multi-sport courts, four outdoor courts, gym, golf and tennis pro-shop, licensed bistro and parking spaces for more than 200 cars.

But a clubhouse, pro-shop, greenkeeper’s cottage, tennis courts and 80 trees would be bulldozed to make way for the new complex, and the first hole of the nine-hole golf course will be reduced, with council considering changing the course layout to include a putt putt golf area and driving range.

Young golfers at a coaching clinic ran by Brad Fasher at Lane Cove Country Club, which will be affected by a proposed new sporting complex.Credit: Nick Moir

Lane Cove Golf Club president Dermot Duncan said he was not against the sports complex being built over the clubhouse, though members would be sad to “swap their humble clubhouse, where resides long memories of camaraderie, for a sterile and impersonal space”.

Mr Duncan was also concerned about the scale of the design its footprint on the land and said the golf club “is disappointed it will be losing about a third of our first hole”.

He said the new facility would be built over the practice green, practice nets and teaching zone, “all of which are essential elements of a golf course”.

Adrienne Cahalan, spokeswoman for the community group SOS Lane Cove, said the proposed sports complex would reduce the area’s liveability. “Introducing a large-scale sporting facility into a quiet residential area will make living adjacent to or near the facility a reason to move out of the suburb,” she said.

An artist’s impression of the Lane Cove Sport and Recreation Facility.Credit: Lane Cove Council

Ms Cahalan also said the development would accelerate the demise of the golf course by shortening it and make it less attractive to golfers.

“The scale of the proposed facility does not suggest a community focus,” she said. “The demographic for basketball is smaller than golf and tennis and does not span the age brackets that golf and tennis do.”

Ms Cahalan said the community group was concerned the development would cause environmental damage as well as the cost to ratepayers.

“The scale of the new facility will encroach into the bushland and wildlife corridor and basically carve out the south side of the valley of an important tributary into the Lane Cove River,” she said.

Lane Cove mayor Pam Palmer said there was a lack of indoor sporting facilities in the area.Credit: Lane Cove Council

But mayor Pam Palmer said Lane Cove lacked indoor sporting facilities, especially for basketball and netball and more than 80 per cent of the community supported a sporting facility on the site.

“This is not being built on the golf course,” she said. “The facility is predominantly located on the existing car park, clubhouse and tennis courts with minimal encroachment onto the golf course at the first tee.”

The golf course is heavily subsidised by Lane Cove Council and faces an uncertain future, with planning documents referring to a 2010 report that concluded “the current operating model is unsustainable”.

“Council continues to subsidise the golf course and notes research into the steady decline of the sport pre-COVID,” a spokeswoman said. “The council currently subsidises the golf course more than all other sporting fields combined, but does not have the same levels of usage.”

But Mr Duncan said the number of golfers increased from 10,558 in 2019 to 15,317 last year. He said if the golf club took over responsibility for the course from the current operator, whose primary business is tennis, it would lead to a “sustainable long-term future for golfers and the many locals who enjoy the green space for walking, jogging, dog-walking or just relaxing”.

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