Rozelle Parklands Row With Football Fields Inaccessible To Clubs

Two new sporting fields in the Rozelle Parklands are in bureaucratic limbo as Transport for NSW and the Inner West Council tussle on who should bear responsibility for hypothetical future contamination.

The parklands were initially opened in December 2023 on much of the site of the former Rozelle railway yard, closing the following month following the discovery of asbestos in mulch.

The area was reopened to the public in stages from late March, with it reported at the time that the public would regain access to the sporting fields. Most of the parklands reopened in late April.

However, sporting clubs and organisations are still unable to obtain permission to use the fields, which consist of an oval with a cricket pitch and a rectangular field, situated next to each other between Lilyfield Road and the City West Link, and bounded to the west by the pedestrian bridge to the Rozelle Bay light rail station.

Club anxious to use facilities

Early in January, president of the Balmain District Football Club Paul Avery told the Daily Telegraph that the bureaucratic hold-up was “utter madness” and bemoaned the delay.

“We have more than 3,100 players in the association and we’re desperate to get access to the playing fields because all the facilities we play on at the moment are beyond capacity,’ Avery said.

“For more than 12 months we’ve been looking with longing at the fields which are open to everyone except for sporting clubs. The situation is just crazy.”

“The delays have been a huge disappointment to all sport codes but particularly football and AFL because we have an increasing participation rate and a chronic shortage of fields to play on.”

As of writing, nearly two months have passed with the issue yet to be resolved – though Transport for NSW says it hopes to reach an agreement ​​“as soon as possible” to permit the handover of the facilities to the Inner West Council.

Mayor sears transport agency

Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne expressed his anger at the stagnation, accusing Transport for NSW of seeking to “rip our community off” as reported by the Herald.

“We’ve discovered now that the agency seemingly wants to transfer liability and risk for the contaminated ground underneath the Parklands to our community and there’s no way we will be agreeing to that,” the mayor chided.

“After the asbestos saga and all of the other problems at Rozelle Parklands, you would think Transport for NSW would get their act together so that we, as a council, can start managing and improving the Parklands for our community.”

Local MP cautions council 

However, state member for Balmain Kobi Shetty was concerned that the council “may be biting off more than they can chew, particularly in light of the difficulties with this particular site.”

A press release from her office stated that ratepayers “could be saddled with an annual bill of $650,000 for the ongoing care and management of Rozelle Parklands, as part of a planned agreement with the NSW Government and Inner West Council.”

According to her office, the council has been seeking to take over the care, control and management of the entire parklands, with the New South Wales Government in exchange offering a one-off payment of $20 million for use across the Inner West Council area rather than specifically on the parklands.

“We had the asbestos debacle this time last year, and we’re still waiting for contractors to finish the work that should have been delivered when the toll road opened over a year ago, including the promised sports courts, lighting, and more amenities blocks,” the local member said.

Shetty said that the parklands “aren’t even finished yet and Council are looking at saddling our community with an ongoing bill of well over half a million dollars for maintenance every year.”

“I’ve heard from locals who are concerned that it’s just not sustainable for council to take on this cost. They don’t want to see rates escalating in the future as a result of this decision, or the money being taken from other important projects to fund it.”

This comes as other councils in Sydney have sought to impose monolithic rate rises on residents, namely the Northern Beaches Council and the North Sydney Council.

“Council could minimise this risk by leaving the care and management of Rozelle Parklands with the NSW Government and lease the sports fields. We already have an example of this type of arrangement in the heritage listed Callan Park, managed by Greater Sydney Parklands.” 

“At the end of the day, there’s no real benefit to our community if council takes responsibility for this site without appropriate compensation for the ongoing cost. The community deserves to be able to enjoy this park, without the risk of cost blowouts impacting ratepayers in the future.”