Harold Park consultation a waste of space

A mood of disquiet has settled over the Harold Park redevelopment project in Annandale, with residents angry amidst feelings City of Sydney Council ignored community recommendations when creating the LDP for the former harness racing site.

The City of Sydney announced in November it had agreed with the NSW Harness Racing Club to dedicate 35 per cent of the Harold Park Paceway site to public use. Under the current proposal, the site will also play host to 1,250 homes, with building heights ranging between three and eight storeys.

Member of the Glebe Chamber of Commerce, Chris Newton, said she felt the development had been “rubber-stamped” by Council.

“Sydney Council are very proud of their community consultation and they had three community forums, each with several hundred participants,” she said.

“[But] when you go to these meetings, the main thing that is clear is that nobody agrees.

“There were a lot of ideas thrown around – some good, some bad – but people were split over it. To go away now and say there is agreement, the community has been consulted, and let’s move on, is unfair – why did they even bother?”

These concerns were echoed by Leichhardt Greens councillor Daniel Kogoy. “At the end of the day, despite all the consultations, there haven’t been too many changes made to take into account all the community issues that were raised,” he said.

But Lord Mayor Clover Moore said several parts of the plan were developed with input from residents.

“During extensive consultation, the community told us they wanted accessible open space, improved local village facilities, protection of the historic tram sheds and sustainable development,” she said.

“The agreed 35 per cent of public open space is a great legacy for the people of Sydney, and especially the people of Glebe and Annandale.”

However, Máire Sheehan, former mayor of Leichhardt and an Annandale resident, said she was concerned about access to public areas.

“What we are talking about is space,” she said.

“There is all that public space and there is nothing else like it.”

She said residents would possibly be denied access to the area under the new development when fences and restrictions were imposed, or may simply not realise the areas were there.

“This is the time to make decisions that will affect the entire life of the development,” she said. “What we do now is going to last a long, long time.”

Leichhardt Labor councillor Lyndal Howison said her concerns revolved less around the consultation process itself, than the final outcome. “To be honest, the outcome is not ideal,” she said. “We’ve got more than 1,200 new residences and up to eight-storey [buildings], and those were specific elements of community feedback that were perhaps not reflected in what’s been proposed.”

The draft planning controls and draft planning agreement for the Harold Park redevelopment are on public exhibition until December 15.