Sydney’s east would get a new sports field, exercise tracks, and a mini putt-putt under the Minns government’s divisive $50 million proposal to chop Moore Park’s 18-hole golf course in half to create a 20-hectare civic park.

The long-awaited draft plans, which the government will release for public feedback on Tuesday, include a rejigged nine-hole golf course and an expanded 90-bay driving range at Moore Park South.

NSW Labor has forged ahead with its ambition to carve up the championship-length golf course – a controversial plan that has pitted Premier Chris Minns and influential City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore against the club, golfing enthusiasts, local councils and MPs, and the NSW opposition.

Planning Minister Paul Scully said delivering the civic park was “about creating a backyard for the thousands of current and future residents living in one of the densest communities in Australia”.

“Moore Park will continue to offer golf while also providing new amenities including a community sporting field, walking, running and cycling paths and trails and relaxation and picnic areas.”

Minns last year vowed to slash nine holes from Moore Park, the closest golf course to Sydney’s central business district, and convert nearly half the 45-hectare site into a park for residents of the nearby suburbs of Green Square, Redfern, Zetland and Waterloo, designed to balance the need for green space with surging residential density.

The government says the population within five kilometres of Moore Park South is projected to surge to almost 790,000 residents by 2041.

The government intends to reclaim the course’s western boundary and part of the land north of Dacey Avenue for public recreational space, maximising its proximity to nearby units, while retaining a nine-hole course and the operation of the existing 60-bay driving range and clubhouse.

Under the draft plans, the park will include a community sports field, multipurpose sports courts, a playground, walking, running and cycling paths and trails with lights to improve safety on the main routes, toilets, picnic spots, outdoor furniture, tree planting and landscaped areas, and parking.

Public feedback will inform other potential features such as an off-leash dog area, outdoor fitness stations, a perimeter loop track, passive recreation areas, and a pump track for bike riders.

Work on the project would begin after the existing lease for Moore Park Golf Course expires in June.

Under the plan, the park will open in stages from late 2026, with work expected to be completed at the end of 2028.

The government set aside $50 million in this year’s state budget to transform the site, months after it allocated $2.6 million for preliminary design and planning works in the 2024-25 financial year.

The draft plans said the changes to golfing facilities would include an 18-hole mini golf course, and “amendments to the current course and adjustments to provide adequate buffers to the parkland”.

“Hole length has been designed to benefit the pace of play, avoiding the bottleneck of the existing golf course. Additional holes have been retained for operational and maintenance requirements.”

Minns’ move to carve up the golf course sparked a furious campaign from an alliance of industry bodies – Moore Park Golf Club, Golf NSW, Golf Australia and PGA of Australia – who branded themselves as the Moore Park Golf Collective.

The group lobbied against the plan and fought back with a counterproposal to retain the 18-hole golf course and create a “world-class” sport and recreation precinct.

Moore Park Golf Club president John Janik has also dug in to save the course from what he has described as “the ill-informed who continually believe the land and resources could be better used”.

Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg, an avid golfer, thrust the issue further into the spotlight when he weighed in during a trip to Sydney, urging the Australian public to “save Moore Park Golf Club”.

Scully said the draft plans, on exhibition until November 24, to transform Moore Park South were designed to boost the community’s physical and mental health by improving access to green space.

“We must continue to pair homes with investments in our public spaces,” Scully said.

“The new park will be a place to meet friends, spend time in nature, play and enjoy community sports in the heart of inner Sydney.”

Moore, as lord mayor, has long pushed to halve the size of the course to free up more parkland for the public.

Former Coalition planning minister Rob Stokes asked the Greater Sydney Parklands Trust to consider shrinking the course in 2020, but later kiboshed the plan following backlash from golfers and the club. He instead floated the idea of a reconfigured golf course that did not cut the number of holes.

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