Newsletter 52 – Waverton Bowling Club – Next Step
- Posted by IanMuttonAdmin
- On December 28, 2022
- waverton bowling club
What is to become of the Waverton Bowling Green? Waverton Park: Comprised, when established back in 1943, the land between Woolcott Street and the north shore of Berrys Bay; between 1967 and 2019 the section fronting Woolcott Street was leased for use as a bowling club; in 2020 North Sydney Council pressed the State Government […]
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 in the (1976) film, Network
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Just like Peter Finch
“I’m as mad as hell ..”
.. but for me the cause is being ignored by the State Government; watching it plunder our open green space – even worse, watching our community being taken for granted and our assets trashed.
One of the things COVID taught us is how much we need to value our open spaces—a crucial public amenity where people can relax, exercise, play and enjoy the natural environment and in North Sydney we have just about the lowest ration of open green space to residents compared to any city local government area.
We are under attack by the State Government – eight examples
<strong>First – The First Sydney Harbour Road Tunnel</strong>
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In 1987 the State Government legislated to take ownership of the Southern end of Bradfield Park to facilitate the building of the tunnel – the land was to be returned on completion. The land remains to be returned to North Sydney Council.
<strong>Second - Berrys Bay Foreshore</strong>
<img class='size-full wp-image-756 alignnone' src='https://www.ianmutton.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Picture-5.jpg' alt='' width='282' height='176' />
Second there’s Berrys Bay - back in 2017 our Premier undertook to make the land on the western side of Berrys Bay available to our community. A month later, the Member for North Shore (F Wilson) spoke in support of the Premier’s undertaking – in her maiden speech.
The State Government is still talking about it – not delivering!
<strong>Third Waverton Bowling Green</strong>
<img class='size-medium wp-image-849 alignnone' src='https://www.ianmutton.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/waverton-bowling-club-300x220.jpg' alt='' width='300' height='220' />
Third – Waverton Bowling Green; it could have, should have passed to North Sydney Council for re-inclusion into Waverton Parklands. The State Government’s dithering opened the Waverton Bowling Green up to a claim by the Metropolitan Land Council and saw it lost to our community.
<strong>Fourth the Sydney Harbour HighLine</strong>
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Fourth - the Sydney Harbour HighLine (walkway from Waverton to Lavender Bay) was promised by the Premier in 2017 following the recommendations of the very Committee she set up that was chaired by Felicity Wilson.
Andrew Constance, when a State Government minister, “paused” the project and then resigned – now the State Government is not even talking about when it will be delivered.
<strong>Fifth - Cammeray golf course</strong>
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The Cammeray golf course has been sacrificed to the needs of the Western Harbour and Beaches’ tunnels and the Warringah Freeway expansion – our community loses 1.5 hectares of open green space and gets nothing in return and gets nothing in return – <a href='https://www.ianmutton.com/2021/05/21/north-shore-community-newsletter-26-parks/'>Newsletter 26</a>
<strong>Sixth – The High Street “interchange”</strong>
Another loss to the needs of the Western Harbour and Beaches’ tunnels and the Warringah Freeway expansion.
Another tree eradication program brought to us by the State Government
<strong>Seventh Wendy’s “secret” Garden</strong>
<img class='alignnone size-medium wp-image-753' src='https://www.ianmutton.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Picture-2-300x169.jpg' alt='' width='300' height='169' />
It’s on borrowed time!
The best the Government has been prepared to do is grant a lease for 30 years (with an option) – unless something is done at the end of the lease the Garden can be claimed by the Metropolitan Land Council.
We need a State Government that’s prepared to protect it for ever.
<strong>Eighth - Bradfield Park being carved up by Transport for NSW to build a ramp for bikes</strong>
The State Government is confronted with a problem – how to get bikes up to and down from the cycleway on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
It has options – both meet the design standards for bike ramps
One:
<ul>
<li>Requires the removal of no trees (the other, on the left, the removal of 8 trees)</li>
<li>Has a zero footprint on Bradfield Park (the other, on the left, is a 200m by 4m concrete velodrome)</li>
<li>Results in the loss of no parking space (the other, on the left, requires the removal of 23 parking space from Alfred Street).</li>
</ul>
<img class='size-medium wp-image-854 alignleft' src='https://www.ianmutton.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/cycle-ramp-map-158x300.jpg' alt='' width='158' height='300' />
Which one do you think the State Government has chosen
• the one that hardly interferes with Bradfield Park or
• the one that runs through the park and across the entrance to the railway station (aptly described as a scar across our Mona Lisa) and sees the removal of trees and parking spaces?
The solution put forward by the community
<img class='alignnone size-medium wp-image-853' src='https://www.ianmutton.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/community-ramp-300x168.png' alt='' width='300' height='168' />
<strong>Conclusion</strong>
The time has come to push back against the State Government and our local member at every opportunity.
Our attempts to work with the State Government have yielded not a brass razoo and cost our community a lot of open green space.
Time to write to our State representative, Felicity Wilson, and tell her what you think about her performance.
Ian Mutton
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.</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style='color: #333333;'><span style='font-family: Calibri Light, serif;'><span>The </span></span></span><span style='color: #333333;'><span style='font-family: Calibri Light, serif;'><span>ALC appealed the Minister’s decision to the Land and Environment Court.</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style='color: #333333;'><span style='font-family: Calibri Light, serif;'><span>The Court sided with the ALC.</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style='color: #333333;'><span style='font-family: Calibri Light, serif;'><span>The state government decided not to appeal this decision.</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style='color: #333333;'><span style='font-family: Calibri Light, serif;'><span>It looks like the land will be sold and re-zoned.</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style='color: #333333;'><span style='font-family: Calibri Light, serif;'><span>Parks everywhere are now at risk</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
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<strong><span lang='en-GB'>Background</span></strong>
<span lang='en-GB'>In 1943, the land that became known Waverton Park was vested in the Crown and dedicated for public recreation. A part of Waverton Park was made over and became the Waverton Bowling Club – the Waverton Bowling Green.</span>
<span lang='en-GB'>In 1967, the Waverton Bowling Green was leased to Waverton Bowling and Recreation Club and later to the North Sydney Club.</span>
<span lang='en-GB'>In 2009, the Waverton Bowling Green was declared Crown Land and reserved for Community and Sporting Club Facilities.</span>
<span lang='en-GB'>In 2019 the North Sydney Club was put into administration.</span>
<span lang='en-GB'>North Sydney Council pushed the State Government to incorporate the Waverton Bowling Green into Waverton Park - the State Government dithered.</span>
<span lang='en-GB'>As an interim measure, North Sydney Council pressed the State Government for a lease; was offered and accepted a licence in the belief that it was preserving the option for the land to be incorporated into Waverton Park.</span>
<span lang='en-GB'>Now to the Land and Environment case - two questions fell for determination by the court</span>
<span lang='en-GB'>Was the Waverton Bowling Green:</span>
<ol>
<li><span lang='en-GB'>lawfully used or occupied and</span></li>
<li><span lang='en-GB'>needed, or likely to be needed, for an essential public purpose?</span></li>
</ol>
<span lang='en-GB'>The Minister, whose decision was being appealed by the Aboriginal Land Council, argued that North Sydney Council:</span>
<ul>
<li><span lang='en-GB'>was, by virtue of the licence, the lawful occupier of the Bowling Green; and</span></li>
<li><span lang='en-GB'>needed (or likely to be needed) the Waverton Bowling Green to increase the amount of open space available for public recreation which was an essential public purpose.</span></li>
</ul>
<span lang='en-GB'>The court ruled against the Minister finding that the:</span>
<ul>
<li><span lang='en-GB'>the licence gave a limited right to occupy and that did not meet the lawful occupier test and</span></li>
<li><span lang='en-GB'>requirement that the Waverton Bowling Green was needed for an essential purpose amounted to a sole need /purpose test – here we had:</span>
<ul>
<li><span lang='en-GB'>North Sydney Council wanting the Bowling Green for open green space and</span></li>
<li><span lang='en-GB'>the State Government actively looking for other users – e.g. Felicity Wilson introduced Knox Rugby Club as a possible acquirer.</span></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<span lang='en-GB'>Hard to accept the court’s decision that:</span>
<ul>
<li><span style='font-family: Times New Roman, serif;'><span lang='en-GB'>a licence for a specific purpose does not count as a licence to lawfully occupy</span></span></li>
<li><span style='font-family: Times New Roman, serif;'><span lang='en-GB'>North Sydney’s need for more open green space is defeated by the dithering of the State Government – especially since North Sydney is short of green space compared to all metropolitan Council areas, with 550 people per hectare compared to Ku-ring-gai’s 84, Willoughby’s 216 and Mosman’s 170.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span lang='en-GB'>When the State Government talks about its commitment to open green space just think about its lack of commitment to protecting the Waverton Bowling Green.</span>
<span lang='en-GB'>The State Government has decided not to appeal the decision.</span>
<span lang='en-GB'>What next? Expect an application to re-zone the land for development.</span>
<span lang='en-GB'>Parks everywhere are at risk of being lost to the broader community.</span>
<span lang='en-GB'>The court ordered that the Waverton Bowling Green be transferred to Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council – the judgement is at <a href='http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/nsw/NSWLEC/2022/130.html'>http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/nsw/NSWLEC/2022/130.html</a></span>
Ian Mutton
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