No, TG Millner Field has always been privately owned land.

The land was also not donated by Col Tom Millner.

Vimiera Recreation Grounds, a not-for-profit associated with Eastwood Rugby Club, and Col Tom Millner collectively purchased over 7 acres of land on Vimiera Road on 9 October 1950, for the construction of a sporting complex. Publicly available government records show that Tom Millner would go on to sell his share to Vimiera Recreation Grounds in May 1954.

Tom Millner’s own grandson remains involved with Vimiera Recreation Grounds, and is fully supportive of the Marsfield Common proposal. Learn more from Rob Millner here.

Ryde Council has previously had over 9 years to acquire TG Millner Field for a fair market price, and it has neither the funds nor the strategic justification to do so – a point acknowledged by the NSW Government in refusing Council’s compulsory acquisition requests in April 2024 and again in July 2025.

Marsfield Common delivers 106 low-rise, two-storey homes — no apartments and no high-rise. Unlike nearly all urban infill sites of this nature in Sydney, Marsfield Common will be a similar density to the surrounding neighbourhood, which was developed over 50 years ago.

Marsfield Common includes the planting of over 500 new trees and the creation of over 1-hectare of open space and a new community garden.

Regrettably, in April 2026, Ryde Council voted to reject a Voluntary Planning Agreement offer to gift the 10,000m² park as public land to the City of Ryde, as well as a $5 million contribution towards critical infrastructure, such as affordable housing and the enhancement of local infrastructure and sporting facilities. Despite this rejection, the park will remain a feature of Marsfield Common, alongside an additional community garden.

Ryde Council has neither the money nor the strategic justification to purchase TG Millner Field – a point acknowledged by the NSW Government in twice refusing Council’s compulsory acquisition requests in April 2024 and again in July 2025.

As opposed to spending circa $100M of public money in seeking to acquire and upgrade the privately-owned TG Millner Field, there exist many options for Council to provide for future open space for the Ryde community.

The redevelopment of Council’s largely redundant 12ha landholding at Wicks Road, Macquarie Park – which was not identified at all in Council’s OSFPS – has now been identified as Council’s highest priority project in its s7.12 Contributions Plan for Macquarie Park. If Council was so minded, it could build 12 x 7,500m² rectangular fields on this site and use the remaining 3ha for parking and other required embellishments – at no land cost to the community and significantly less than the $100 million cost of acquiring and regenerating TG Millner Field. This redundant Council-owned site represents an opportunity to ‘create’ 12 hectares of new public open space – double the size of TG Millner Field.

No, the Marsfield Common proposal will increase publicly accessible open space in Ryde. The privately-owned TG Millner Field is not public open space now. The Marsfield Common proposal will increase open space in the Ryde LGA with 10,340m² of open space for the whole community to use.

The proposal also includes a community garden which incorporates edible gardens, flexible gathering areas with seating and event spaces, and native planting.

No, the State Labor Government and the Liberal Opposition never made any formal election promises to ‘save’ TG Millner Field at the March 2023 Election. The NSW Parliamentary Budget Office (an independent body) produces costings of each party’s election commitments prior to every NSW election. There is no mention of any promises relating to TG Millner Field in either party’s election commitments.

The TG Millner site has reached the end of its life in terms of its current uses.

Since 2000, first as a tenant and subsequently as the owner, it has cost North Ryde RSL and its members over $1million/year to operate the fields and Sports Club at TG Millner, with few games and an average of 40 people visiting the licensed Club each day.

Marsfield Common aims to revitalise the TG Millner site and reconnects today’s community to the site through the unlocking of currently privately owned land and the creation of a new 1-hectare publicly accessible park.

Marsfield Common originated with North Ryde RSL Community Club and Eastwood Rugby Club and continues under the new ownership of Winston Langley and Abadeen, who are committed to delivering the same outcomes.

Marsfield Common is a proposal prepared by North Ryde RSL and Winston Langley/Abadeen to redevelop TG Millner Field, creating 106 low-rise homes and new publicly accessible open space for the surrounding community.

For the past 30 years, both North Ryde RSL and Eastwood Rugby Clubs went to great lengths to keep TG Millner Field alive, but TG Millner Field is no longer relevant to the community that surrounds it – a decline initially identified by Eastwood Rugby in the 1990’s and reflected in the continued decline of the licensed Club to the present date.

Eastwood Rugby (whose long-term patron is Rob Millner AO – the grandson of TG Millner) made a decision in 2017 to move to a new location in Castle Hill, which is closer to their main player base. Only 4% of Eastwood’s current players and participants are from the Ryde area and Rugby is no longer a popular sport in the Ryde LGA.

In the Marsfield Common proposal, approximately 15% (10,000m²) of the currently privately-owned TG Millner Field is proposed to be developed for the community as open space for low-impact recreation purposes, to be further developed in consultation with the local community.

The vision for Marsfield Common has been developed by a high-quality consultant team, led by DKO architecture (www.dko.com.au) and Ethos Urban Planning (now Colliers Urban Planning), both of whom have extensive experience in complex Masterplan proposals of this nature.

DKO has won sustainability awards and is known for taking particular care in integrating the natural surrounds with their housing projects, such as their Orion Braybrook community of contemporary townhouse terraces laid out across 11 hectares of landscaped streetscapes and pocket parks.

Colliers Urban Planning was integrally involved in the redevelopment of Putney Hill, which is regarded as a leading example of the regeneration of aging ‘urban infill’ infrastructure and is located in the Ryde LGA.

The project is being developed by Winston Langley and Abadeen Group.

Founded in 2003, Winston Langley is a property development and property advisory company with a focus on residential, retail, Club and mixed-use projects in NSW.

Winston Langley has a long history of working in successful joint ventures with landowners, many of whom are community organisations, to strategically unlock the value of their property holdings in order to ensure the regeneration and future success of these organisations.

Winston Langley is a dynamic property development company that delivers on its promises. Winston Langley operates ethically, honestly and fairly and maintains these values in its dealings with all stakeholders.

www.winstonlangley.com.au

Established in 2000, Abadeen is a leading property developer and the number one developer of premium projects on Sydney’s Lower North Shore. The company specialises in premium residential, mixed-use developments and communities across Australia, with a strong national presence. Abadeen is actively delivering more than 20 mixed-use and land lease sites across NSW, VIC, QLD and WA, backed by a $3.5billion+ project pipeline.

Abadeen’s award-winning Putney Wharf development in the Ryde LGA stands as a benchmark for the architectural quality, public-realm outcomes and long-term value the group brings to its projects. Community members are encouraged to visit our Putney Wharf display suite to experience firsthand the level of design and detail reflective of the vision for Marsfield Common.

With a consumer-first approach, strong industry partnerships and deep market expertise, Abadeen is committed to delivering high-quality, enduring developments that enhance communities and create long-term value.

www.abadeen.com.au

The Marsfield Common proposal includes the planting of over 500 new trees, providing a total canopy cover of 50% on the site and significant greening outcomes for the area. The street tree strategy has also been developed to achieve 70% tree canopy coverage (excluding private lots and open space areas).

Currently, the privately-owned site sits largely unused as an open field and occasional parking lot, while upkeep of the grounds wastes significant water resources. We believe this area has the potential to better serve both the community and the environment.

The NSW Government has stated that to create a sustainable, liveable and cool Greater Sydney, we need trees and green cover. In their commitment to more trees, cleaner air and more beautiful places to live, the Government has made a commitment to plant five million trees by 2030.

It is a priority to retain trees that already stand on the site, which we have identified as high value to the local environment and community. This tree assessment has identified a number of high-value trees that will be successfully integrated into the expanded tree canopy for the site.

In addition, the project included a wide range of sustainability and Environmentally Sustainable Design (ESD) initiatives relating to water, stormwater management, solar, energy-efficiency, environmental and waste management matters.