USYD vs resident battle ends in a new sports hall

City of Sydney has passed the development application for a new University of Sydney (USYD) Sports Hall after the university agreed to new design conditions.

The DA was passed with revisions last Monday following a battle between USYD and residents over parking allocation.

The University has agreed to review parking in the area and facilitate better consultation with residents after a number of objections were raised over the DA last week.

“We’ve agreed to all the new additional conditions. It’s really important that our community is not just the University, it’s the community that we sit within or on the edge of,” said Colin Rockliff, the Director of Campus Infrastructure Services.

Other conditions raised by residents include adding street trees into the design, visual screening of the proposed water polo training facility and a public transport plan as part of USYD’s green sustainability initiatives.

Colin Rockliff says the Campus Infrastructure Services is willing to engage with residents and their objections and wants to improve dialogue between the University and its neighbours.

Residents from Abercrombie Street claimed there was a lack of consultation over the design process and for the DA of the new facility.

“If the Council can work to make the development a better one for the community, it’ll be a positive,” said Jennifer Sams, an Abercrombie Street resident of 18 years.

The proposed DA will see a two-stage construction process to develop a new sports hall and water polo training facility as an extension to the existing Sports Centre on Abercrombie Street.

By Vanessa Zhang