Wentworth Park’s Future As Public Parkland Up In The Air as State Declines To Rule Out New Housing

There is uncertainty over the future of Wentworth Park, with the premier recently declining to rule out new housing on the site of the greyhound track, which the City of Sydney wants converted to public parkland.

The lease of the facility to Greyhound Racing NSW is due to expire next year, with a recent effort by the organisation to have it extended viewed as a long shot. In 2020, the Berejiklian government committed to closing the racecourse and integrating the site into the public park surrounding it.

However, since the Australian Turf Club’s rejection of the Rosehill housing development proposal, the Minns government has been searching for alternatives. In late June, premier Chris Minns said no decision had yet been made about the site in Glebe – despite the state’s commitment five years ago.

“We have to make a decision about the site. One hasn’t been taken yet,” Minns said. It is expected by the year’s end.

Community group says premier was “inaccurate”

Members of the community and local organisations have expressed support for closing the greyhound racing facility, but there is contention about what else the site might be used for.

Local organisation Friends of Ultimo told City Hub that “Wentworth Park is the only large green space serving the Glebe, Pyrmont and Ultimo communities in one of the densest areas of Australia.”

“We understand that the Greyhound Racing lease expires at the end of 2027 and that the Minns government is considering all options including extending the racing lease.”

However, the group said that the premier was “inaccurate” to say that a decision had not been made. They referred to the Pyrmont Peninsula Place Strategy published in December 2020 by the New South Wales Government.

The document identifies “the return of the Wentworth Park greyhound track land and the temporary pop up school once their terms expire” as a key priority, with the facilities to be replaced by “newly activated, publicly accessible open space as part of a larger and enhanced parkland.”

Friends of Ultimo warn that the government is at risk of breaking a promise to the community.

“Using the racing complex land for any purpose other than public open space would equate to breaking an official commitment taken after months of public consultations.”

They note their alignment with local Balmain MP Kobi Shetty, who is calling for the state to work “with the local community and the City of Sydney to revitalise this parkland and return it to the community for public use,” in accordance with the 2020 strategy.

Call for “genuine consultation”

Elizabeth Elenius of Pyrmont Action, another community group, tells City Hub that the organisation has not recently discussed the future use of the greyhound site. However, she added, “in the past it has been our view that the government should retain the site to meet the need for the massive future growth planned for the Pyrmont Peninsula.”

“There should be early and genuine consultation with the surrounding communities in this regard,” Elenius said.

She says that one potentiality is the creation of a new secondary school, given the crowded state of the Sydney Secondary College’s Balmain campus, “and the difficulty students from Pyrmont and Ultimo have in getting to school on time by public transport.”

“There will no doubt be other uses put forward, but given the shortage of public sites for essential social infrastructure including public housing, the government needs to keep options open.”

Mary Mortimer, who is also involved in local organisations, opined that the community “is probably divided” about whether the site should be used for housing or parkland, with there being “strong feeling” about the necessity of both in the area.

Mortimer tells City Hub that accomodation is needed for “transport workers, hospital workers, teachers” and others, and that there is also a need for “more green open space for people to play sports and relax in the sun.”

In a late March letter to Sydney MP Tanya Plibersek, another community group noted that the area around Wentworth Park is “already one of the highest density housing areas in Australia”, with further developments underway.

“The increased population will require allocation of open space to support the health and wellbeing of this growing population,” wrote Ultimo Village Voice chair Andrew Niven.

“The positive health and temperature impacts of green space in a city are well recognised.”

Local residents, who in 2021 numbered 11,680 in Glebe, 12,658 in Pyrmont and 7,410 in Ultimo, will keenly anticipate any determination on the future of the site.