The toilet block plan heritage advocates fear will ‘urbanise’ Middle Head

Plans to build new sports facilities on Sydney’s Middle Head are facing resistance from heritage advocates, who say the upgrades pave the way for more intensive development of the parkland.

Mosman Council wants to demolish an amenities block next to Middle Head Oval and replace it with a pavilion featuring change rooms and a clubroom, as well as a shelter for existing tiered seats.

An artist’s impression of the council’s proposal for new community and sporting facilities at Middle Head Oval.Credit:

Mosman Mayor Ann Marie Kimber said the existing building was heavily used by members of soccer and Aussie rules clubs, but it was “very dark”, “scary” and “awful” and there were no dedicated female change rooms.

“It’s a 50-year-old building. It’s done its dash,” Kimber said.

But Headland Preservation Group president Jill L’Estrange said the proposed “grandstand” was inappropriate and “enormous”, and that it would compromise the site’s natural and military assets.

“Once we do an urbanised oval, and we put in structures that have no relevance or relationship to the environment or the heritage, we are urbanising this very special precinct,” she said.

The site is on land managed by the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, a federal government agency that owns sensitive former defence sites on the foreshore. It will decide on the council’s proposal.

Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek last year declared the trust’s nine historic defence sites must raise revenue and attract more tourists, reviving debate about balancing the need for new facilities with conserving the natural, Indigenous and military significance of the sites.

Revised council plans said the project would “meet the contemporary requirements of the football and AFL clubs, while opening up views, supporting accessibility and universal access, providing additional open space infrastructure, and respecting the natural heritage values of Middle Head”.

Kimber, who described herself as “a very passionate sports person”, said the proposed pavilion was “so much bigger than just a new toilet block. It’s got all these [community] principles behind it”.

The Headland Preservation Group says the structures are inappropriate for the historic parkland near the entrance to Sydney Harbour.Credit: Headland Preservation Group

“We’re really excited about it, and it will mean a lot to the community.”

Kimber said the covered area was “not a big grandstand”, and that architects had designed the project to provide shade and to act as an open clubhouse, rather than expanding the building footprint.

L’Estrange said the community had not been adequately consulted on the proposal, which attracted 279 submissions to the trust. They have not been published.

“We think the environment and heritage impacts will be significant, and it should be referred to Minister Plibersek,” she said.

Headland Preservation Group founder Linda Bergin said it was the most significant development pitched for Middle Head since a proposed aged care facility the group fought in 2013.

“This will open the door to more development on Middle Head,” Bergin said.

The trust said it was assessing the application, and would “carefully consider a range of relevant matters, including potential impacts on the heritage values of the place”.

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