Community Groups Support Wentworth Park Revitalisation, As City Unveils Plan

The City of Sydney has released its plan for the rejuvenation of Wentworth Park, which would see the greyhound track removed and the surrounding parkland renovated.

Released on 20 October, the draft Vision for Wentworth Park proposal envisions the installation of new pathways and sporting facilities, the creation of a wetland basin and revegetation.

Wentworth Park, previously a toxic industrial area, was developed in the 1870s and 1880s. It was dedicated in 1885, named after Australian statesman William Charles Wentworth. Its landscape was of a gardenesque style, and it featured a series of lakes until the 1900s. The railway viaduct was erected in 1919.

A number of sports have used the park, which at one point had a speedway used for motorcycle and car racing. The greyhound track opened in 1939.

In the proposal document, the City makes the case for the removal of the controversial greyhound track, arguing that doing so will free up space and create “the opportunity to provide a new oval containing two sports fields.”

“If the Wentworth Park greyhound track is not returned to the park to provide more open space, improving public access and planning for the increased population in the area will result in failure to meet community needs and expectations.”

Plan would “restore” park, says community group

Community group Friends of Ultimo strongly supports the draft plan, “which would restore the park as a unified public open space without any construction.” The group said that the proposal reflects the results of a large public consultation which the City conducted in 2022.

It has advocated closing the greyhound track when the present lease expires in 2027. “Greyhound racing is a cruel, outdated activity which kills hundreds of dogs every year and is mainly supported by socially destructive betting,” it told the City Hub.

Pyrmont Action, another local organisation, told this masthead that it supports the closure of the track.

However, it recommends “that the New South Wales Government defer consideration of the future use of this site until it has undertaken a review of infrastructure needs of the current and future residential populations of adjoining suburbs.” 

Whilst they expressed no strict position on the Vision for Wentworth Park, they support the retention of the oval within the track and of adjacent smaller buildings for community use, and the demolition of the grandstand.

Proposal is “just what the community has been asking for”

Balmain MP Kobi Shetty represents locals in neighbouring Glebe, as well as parts of Ultimo and Pyrmont. She said that the community “has been crying out for more open green space,” and that she is working closely with the City of Sydney on Wentworth Park.

“The new concept designs are just what the community has been asking for – with new spaces to play sport, picnic and enjoy nature.” 

“Pyrmont and Ultimo are two of the most densely populated suburbs in Australia, and with more high-density development on the way there is a desperate need for more shared green spaces. It is no longer tenable to have such a large portion of Wentworth Park used for greyhound racing.” 

“The Greyhound racing industry is beyond reform, and they’ve lost their social license to operate. It’s incredibly disappointing to see the Minns Labor Government consider propping up the industry further, by giving them ongoing access to prime public land in the heart of our city beyond 2027.”

Shetty, who is in the Greens, said that the “time has come for the NSW Labor Government to hand the land over so we can make this happen.”