North shore council splits community with $75 million sports project

A Sydney council is pushing ahead with controversial plans for a $75 million sports complex to combat a chronic shortage of facilities on the north shore.

Lane Cove Council wants to build a new sports and recreation centre at the Lane Cove Golf Course despite opposition from some residents who claim it is too expensive and will cause harm to the environment.

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

The project will also potentially force the closure of the golf course for 18 months, prompting fears for the future of Lane Cove Golf Club.

The council last month voted to push ahead with the sports complex after Lane Cove’s Labor Mayor Andrew Zbik cast a deciding ballot to break a tied vote.

Eight indoor and outdoor multi-sport courts, a gymnasium, golf and tennis pro shop and food outlet are planned for the new sports centre. It will also have 248 car parking spaces, which has prompted concern about traffic congestion.

“Uncertainty is the cancer that has been threatening the survival of our club for over 10 years and it is still an existential threat.”

Lane Cove Golf Club president Cindy Brown

Netball NSW facilities and infrastructure manager Stephen Bourke welcomed the new sports complex and said netball clubs struggled to provide enough courts for players.

“They split their competitions for Friday and Saturday and have reduced playing times so more games can be scheduled,” he said.

Bourke said there was a shortage of facilities and open space for many sports across Sydney.

“Sydney’s northern suburbs have been squeezed for many years with population increases and higher density, as well as high land values, without the corresponding supply of active open space,” he said.

The projected cost of the sports complex has also increased from $52 million in 2021 to $75 million, which a council spokeswoman said included $9.8 million for environmentally sustainable design and other project costs.

Zbik said the council planned to bulldoze the golf club’s car park, clubhouse and tennis courts in June – one month after a local planning panel is supposed to determine its development application.

Lane Cove Golf Club supports the sports complex provided there is no interruption to golfers during its construction.

Club president Cindy Brown said many members were concerned they will be left without a course to play on during the construction period and were looking at other clubs.

“Uncertainty is the cancer that has been threatening the survival of our club for over 10 years and it is still an existential threat,” she said.

Zbik said the need for new sporting facilities had been identified in 2008 – alternatives such as purchasing a warehouse in Lane Cove West “showed that we would end up with half the number of multi-purpose courts for the same build costs as to what we have committed to construct”.

He said the lack of sporting facilities in the area was abundantly clear. “It is no longer feasible for council to purchase land to meet sporting and recreation needs.”

The council’s decision in favour of the project angered some residents who have sought legal advice about the development, said Longueville Residents Association president Ron Gedeon.

“A number of owners will be badly impacted by the development, proposed traffic lights and road works on River Road, yet their pleas fell on deaf ears,” he said.

Gore Creek Valley Action Group president Adrienne Calahan said community groups wanted a new sports centre, but opposed the cost and site of the council’s planned facility.

“Unless it can service all of the lower north shore, it will run at a loss that could bankrupt the Lane Cove Council,” she said.

She also said the sports facility would lead to gridlocked traffic on weekends because of a lack of public transport and damage to the environment.

“The proposed facility will puncture this precious green lung, generating noise, traffic, light and air pollution, damaging the eco structure of the valley forever and for future generations,” she said.

Zbik dismissed the residents’ criticisms, pointing out that $10 million of the expected cost of the facility was to ensure the project had a high level of sustainability.

He said the golf club was operating at a loss, but the council was trying to retain the operation of the golf course during the new facility’s expected 18-month construction period.

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