Proposed rugby club facility at Boronia Park

The Trust has recently become aware of The Hunters Hill Rugby Club’s proposal for a facility to be constructed in Princes Street on the bank of No 2 oval at Boronia Park. 

David Innes, Group Manager Works and Services at Council says that “The whole proposal is still in its preliminary stages and we have suggested to the proponents that they need to identify and understand community attitudes and support, before lodging any applications”.

The Trust appreciates the club’s need to have a place of its own to keep gear and gym equipment and where members and friends can go after the game to have a drink, a bite to eat and to socialise etc.    However there is a level of concern in the community about the location of the building which may be due to a lack of information.  So in the interests of getting some clarity, we have written to the club with a number of questions about the plans displayed at the September 13th meeting:

SOME RESERVATIONS REGARDING THE PLANS DISPLAYED AT THE 13 SEPTEMBER MEETING

•  Is the proposal intended to be licensed premises for eating and drinking?
•  Can the proposal be financed and maintained without a commercial income stream generated by operating a licensed facility?
•  How has the site location been determined and were any alternatives considered? 
• Has an environmental impact assessment been made of the site prior to determining how such a facility would impact on the current usage of the park, and on the health of the Sydney Turpentine Ironbark Forest along Princes Street and the riparian bushland communities below Princes Street?
• Has Council’s own Bushland Management officer been consulted, considering the substantial amounts of money, both from Capital Works and government grants that have been spent over previous years and ongoing, on stream remediation projects and protecting the remnant STIF?
• What are the views of Boronia Park Bushcare and related voluntary  organisations who have been maintaining  the  bushland  adjacent  to the proposed site for many years.
• Has The Rugby Club canvassed the economic viability of such a proposal in the light of its proximity of the HH Hotel, The Gladesville RSL,The Gladesville Sporties (a few hundred metres up Ryde Road) and The Hunters Hill Club which is also not very far away?
• Has the impact of the proposal on the patronage of these existing club and hotel facilities been assessed?
• Has a heritage report been prepared in relation to its impact on Boronia Park, which is a schedule 6 item in the LEP?
•  What will be the impact of all the additional vehicle traffic coming into the park?
•  Vehicular access to the area is currently restricted. How will the opening of the facility change this?
•  What will the proposal look like from Princes Street onto which the scheme seems to turn its back?
•  When will the facility be used and during what hours of the day?
•  Will there be any additional street lighting in association with the proposal?

BACKGROUND

The Plan of Management for Boronia Park allows for the construction of a Community Facility in the general area proposed.  Such a term implies a building for the use of any community group operating within the Boronia Park/Hunters Hill community. 

 Being remote from the existing grandstand and associated facilities, such a Community Facility would need to be supplied with water, power  and sewage, making it an expensive project.  Such a Community Facility could well include storage and changing facilities for sports played in Boronia Park, but not for the exclusive use of any particular sport or sports. 

 The proposed building, as described at the meeting on 13^th September, appears to be intended primarily to provide facilities for the Rugby Club, plus dining and drinking facilities (with a potential to be licensed).  Meeting the requirements for licensed premises would greatly increase the cost of construction and maintenance, and therefore decrease its availability to other community groups.

•  The site of the building is on a steep slope at the eastern end of oval No 2
• There is a dotted line, which suggests a large parking area over and above the small existing carpark beside oval 3.
• The cost of the building and associated furniture etc is estimated to be around $4 million, plus the cost of deep pile footings, which will be required because of the nature of the site.
• 69% of the building is given over to eating and drinking and the rest consists of an underground gymnasium and briefing room, rugby store, grounds equipment store and changing rooms for visitors and home teams on the lower level.

 The Trust is waiting on a response from the Club and we will keep members informed of any further developments.