Clubs back council in playoff for ovals
VAGUE, SAYS COUNCIL
By Ashlee Betteridge
Local sporting teams are having to
turn away players due to a lack of
playing fields in the area, and are
calling for Leichhardt Council to
be granted control of Callan Park’s
playing fields.
Both Leichhardt Council and
Sydney University are vying to man-
age the fields as part of the Sydney
Harbour Foreshore Authority’s
(SHFA) Draft Land Use Plan for
Callan Park.
John Thomson, president of the
Balmain and District Football Club,
said that the club is pleased new
fields will be available, but it was im-
peritive that ovals were under coun-
cil control which would be “best for
the local clubs”.
“[Sydney Uni] have their own
teams and have lots of fields in
Camperdown,” Mr Thomson said.
He said that a lack of fields in the
area meant that the club had to turn
away about 20 Under 6 players this
year and an Over 35 team because
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John Thomson,
president of the
Balmain and District
Football Club,
said that a lack
of local sporting
fields has led to the
club turning away
potential players.
The club wants to
see the Callan Park
fields controlled by
Leichhardt Council.
there wasn’t space to train and play.
The club has made a submission
to SHFA on the draft land use plan,
and also delivered more than 400
letters to Balmain MP Verity Firth.
Council put in its submission to
SHFA last month, which stated that
the ovals should be controlled by the
council to ensure equality of access
for sporting clubs and local schools.
Professor Richard Jeremy,
Pro Vice Chancellor for Campus
Infrastructure and Services at the
LAND USE PLAN TOO
University of Sydney, said that if
the university was granted control,
the ovals would still be available for
community use.
“The university has proposed in
its submission to SHFA that it would
create or upgrade three ovals in the
Callan Park education precinct. One
oval would be handed to Leichhardt
Council to manage and maintain.
The remaining two would be man-
aged and maintained by the univer-
sity,” Mr Jeremy said.
The draft land use plan for Callan
Park could have cultural benefits for
the area, but is too vague and may
have adverse impacts on heritage
buildings, according to a report by
Leichhardt Council staff.
The draft plan would see the Uni-
versity of Sydney campus expand at
Callan Park.
The report, which formed part of
council’s submission to the Sydney
Harbour Foreshore Authority (SHFA)
on the land use plan, states that
“insufficient information was provided
to council for it to complete a detailed
assessment of the potential merits of
the proposal”.
Other issues identified included the
need for a management structure for
the whole site and an implementa-
tion strategy for heritage protection,
transport, traffic and parking issues
and tree removal.
Councillors passed a motion accepting
the submission, stating that the plan
promotes an overdevelopment of the
parkland site and reaffirming council’s
stance that the park should be used for
mental health services.
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