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Marsfield Common is a proposal by two community-based organisations, Eastwood Rugby and North Ryde RSL, to renew the TG Millner Field site by creating 132 low-rise, diverse homes and a new public park for the local community.
Regrettably, the TG Millner rugby fields are now largely unused. The privately-owned site is at risk of either overdevelopment or decline. Marsfield Common seeks to best reconnect today’s community to the site through new neighbours, new local access, new opportunities, and new ideas.
The proposal included community benefits such as:
- 132 low-rise terrace homes. No apartments and no high rise. There will only be site-appropriate terrace houses of no more than 2 storeys;
- Delivery of a new 10,000m² public park including full-sized basketball/multi-purpose sports court, an all-abilities play space, pedestrian paths, seating and fitness equipment. The value of this new public park exceeds $20million;
- An allocation of $6 million towards affordable housing and enhancement of local sporting facilities in Ryde;
- More green space and habitats with the planting of 570 new trees providing total canopy cover of 65% – considerably higher than Council’s 40% targets;
- The ability for Eastwood Rugby to contribute towards the creation of three (3) new publicly owned modern rugby fields in Castle Hill.
The Marsfield Common proposal was first submitted to Council on 18 May 2022, addressing all the matters raised by Council officers in pre-lodgement discussions and was supported and praised by Ryde Council officers in the original planning stages. The proposal was subsequently submitted to the NSW Government via the Department of Planning and Environment for consideration by the relevant Sydney District Planning Panel in December 2022. The Panel refused the application on the basis of advice from Council that the site was likely to be acquired for public open space purposes in the near future. In November 2022, Ryde Council initiated a non-exclusive negotiation process to purchase the TG Millner site from the North Ryde RSL, before seeking permission from the state government to compulsory acquire the site.
On 12 April 2024, the NSW Government refused Ryde Council’s request to seek to compulsorily acquire TG Millner Field. The NSW Government’s decision was made because Ryde Council, despite being provided with every opportunity to do so, could not provide any strategic justification for the proposed acquisition of the site, nor does it have the monies required to acquire and regenerate TG Millner Field. In this regard, the Minister for Local Government noted that Council’s flagship Ryde Central project has stalled and is a hole in the ground, while Council officers identified a $224M shortfall in Council’s capital budget in November 2023.
Ryde Council’s attempt to compulsorily acquire TG Millner Field had the potential to expose ratepayers to a cost approaching $80million in terms of acquiring the site and improving its facilities for public use.
The privately-owned TG Millner site cannot stay as it is. The decision to relodge Marsfield Common will provide some certainty to the future of both the North Ryde RSL and Eastwood Rugby. This proposal is identical to the proposal NRRSL and Eastwood Rugby submitted to Ryde Council in May 2022. We truly believe that this is the best plan to regenerate TG Millner Fields for the community.
A successful outcome will provide funding to allow Eastwood Rugby to build its state-of-the-art rugby facility, and will allow NRRSL to continue to provide financial support to numerous sporting and charitable bodies within the Ryde LGA, as well as their 27,000 members.