From Asbestos to Timber: Rozelle Parklands Struggles with Safety Concerns Again

Parts of the children’s playground at Rozelle Parklands in Sydney’s Inner West have been fenced off again after visitors raised concerns about salvaged timber “bleeding” a black, tar‑like substance and giving off a strong chemical smell.

Authorities have since removed sections of the wood for testing, while fencing has been erected around affected areas as a precaution. A notice posted to the park reads: “Thank you for your patience while we work with the NSW government to carry out works.The rest of the park and playground are still able to be used and enjoyed.”

The parklands sit atop the multibillion-dollar Rozelle interchange and were promoted as a major new green space for the community. But since opening in late 2023, the site has been plagued by contamination issues that have repeatedly undermined public confidence.

The closures come more than two years after the park was shut down only weeks after opening in January 2024, when asbestos‑contaminated mulch was found around the playground. Transport for NSW (TfNSW), which operates the park, closed the parkland while contamination experts sampled and removed affected mulch.

Now, fresh concerns about the timber — reportedly salvaged from former rail yards — have led to sections of play equipment being cordoned off pending tests for potentially hazardous chemicals. A community member raised the concerns after reading a plaque at the playground, which stated that timber used to build play equipment was “salvaged from the Rozelle rail yards that formerly occupied this land throughout most of the 20th century” – including railway sleepers.

A 2016 transport department report on the former rail yards advised that “treated timber, including treated railway sleepers, must not be reused or recycled or used at the site”.

A spokesperson for Transport for NSW said some timber had been removed “out of an abundance of caution” due to its condition and was being assessed. They said the salvaged timber was installed by a contractor during landscaping work.