Decision details

Moved by Councillor Jarrett, seconded by Councillor Davis –

It is resolved that:

(A)       Council note: 

(i)         Getiela Synthetic Sportsfield, consisting of basketball courts and sports fields, is a shared-use recreation facility developed by the Department of Education and the City of Sydney;

(ii)        the City entered into an agreement with the Department of Education in 2018, and School Infrastructure NSW designed and delivered the project;

(iii)       the NSW Department of Planning approved the Alexandria Park Community School redevelopment in February 2019;

(iv)       since the completion of the Getiela Synthetic Sportsfield and basketball courts upgrade, the sports field and courts have been extremely well utilised by local sports groups with consistent bookings after hours on weekdays and for several hours per day on the weekend;

(v)        whilst the local residents support the use of Getiela Synthetic Sportsfield and basketball courts, they have extreme concerns about the current conduct and operation of the facilities during the usage of the field and courts including:

(a)        the current noise levels and anti-social behaviour exhibited by many of the current sports teams hiring the use of the field and using the courts;

(b)        the operating hours of the field and courts;

(c)        the light pollution and operating hours of the lights on the field and courts; and

(d)        the height of the school fence and lack of security and enforcement of the field and courts;

(vi)       City staff have met with residents of the area to discuss the impacts of the usage of Getiela Synthetic Sportsfield and basketball courts on the liveability of the area and have come to several agreements regarding determining the appropriateness of groups who hire the field and enforcement of the Conditions of Use; and 

(vii)      the residents have explicitly expressed to both City staff and Councillors that even with the small changes made to the use of the field, the current operation of Getiela Synthetic Sportsfield and basketball courts is unsustainable and unbearable, with more changes needing to be assessed and implemented immediately to create a balance between the liveability and recreational use of the area; and

(B)       the Chief Executive Officer be requested to:  

(i)         write to and liaise with the Department of Education to discuss investigating an increase in the height of the fence surrounding Getiela Synthetic Sportsfield to reduce the number of people accessing the field and courts after the designated hours of use and to allow use of the Alexandria Park Community School bathrooms during operating hours to reduce anti-social behaviour and/or the installation of toilet/change facilities that are available during the relevant hours; 

(ii)        commission an external sound consultant to conduct acoustic testing at Getiela Synthetic Sportsfield on:

(a)        a weekday evening during training on the field;

(b)        the weekend during a men’s football match;

(c)        the basketball courts on a weekday evening; and

(d)        the basketball courts on the weekend

to ensure that the noise level and pollution is not exceeding residential noise limits and to determine whether the installation of a noise mitigation sound barrier wall would be beneficial for the residents surrounding the area;

(iii)       investigate the possibility of a reduction in the operation hours of the Sportsfield and basketball courts on weeknights to 8pm rather than 10pm in order to preserve the wellbeing of the residents in the area;

(iv)       investigate the feasibility of reducing the intensity/dimming the lighting during the evening operation of the field and basketball courts and the possibility for installing reflectors to reduce spill light on both the field and courts to limit the disruption on residential sleep patterns;

(v)        review and amend the City of Sydney’s Gatiela Synthetic Sportsfield Conditions of the Use to reflect the findings of the above recommendations; and

(vi)       report back to Council on all investigations mentioned above in a timely manner.

Amendment. Moved by Councillor Davis, seconded by Councillor Worling –

It is resolved that:

(A)       Council note: 

(i)         Getiela Synthetic Sportsfield, consisting of basketball courts and sports fields, is a shared-use recreation facility developed by the Department of Education and the City of Sydney;

(ii)        the City entered into an agreement with the Department of Education in 2018, and School Infrastructure NSW designed and delivered the project;

(iii)       the NSW Department of Planning approved the Alexandria Park Community School redevelopment in February 2019;

(iv)       since the completion of the Getiela Synthetic Sportsfield and basketball courts upgrade, the sports field and courts have been extremely well utilised by local sports groups with consistent bookings after hours on weekdays and for several hours per day on the weekend;

(v)        whilst the local residents support the use of Getiela Synthetic Sportsfield and basketball courts, they have extreme concerns about the current conduct and operation of the facilities during the usage of the field and courts including:

(a)        the current noise levels and anti-social behaviour exhibited by many of the current sports teams hiring the use of the field and using the courts;

(b)        the operating hours of the field and courts;

(c)        the light pollution and operating hours of the lights on the field and courts; and

(d)        the height of the school fence and lack of security and enforcement of the field and courts;

(vi)       City staff have met with residents of the area to discuss the impacts of the usage of Getiela Synthetic Sportsfield and basketball courts on the liveability of the area and have come to several agreements regarding determining the appropriateness of groups who hire the field and enforcement of the Conditions of Use;

(vii)      City staff have also:

(a)        met with and written to sporting clubs asking them to reduce noise levels and be respectful of neighbours;

(b)        reduced the sports field and court lighting levels to 75 lux;

(c)        investigated increasing the fence height and will report to the Department of Education;

(d)        added two additional security patrols at 11pm and 1am, every night;

(e)        visited to assess noise and found it to be consistent with other sports fields;

(f)         organised for additional access to the accessible toilet within the school, in addition to the public toilet that is open next to the sportsfield until 10pm; and

(g)        investigated reducing weekday hours from 10pm to 9pm; and

(viii)    the residents have explicitly expressed to both City staff and Councillors that even with the small changes made to the use of the field, the current operation of Getiela Synthetic Sportsfield and basketball courts is unsustainable and unbearable, with more changes needing to be assessed and implemented immediately to create a balance between the liveability and recreational use of the area; and

(B)       the Chief Executive Officer be requested to investigate resident concerns about noise, lighting, fence height, hours of use, after-hours access, and lack of toilets at Getiela Synthetic Sportsfield and report back to Council via the CEO Update on actions taken.

The amendment was carried unanimously.

The amended motion was carried unanimously.

X086657

Extension of Time

During discussion on this matter, pursuant to the provisions of clause 9.29 of the Code of Meeting Practice, it was –

Moved by the Chair (the Lord Mayor), seconded by Councillor Scott –

That Councillor Jarrett be granted an extension of time of two minutes to speak on this matter.

Carried unanimously.