NSW Government moves forward with plans to repurpose Moore Park Golf Course to nine-holes

The NSW Government is to move ahead with its plans to reduce the size of the Moore Park Golf Course from 18 to nine holes and return the land to public use as a new ‘central park’ for inner Sydney.

As revealed by Australasian Leisure Management last year, the NSW Government will repurpose 20 hectares of the course into green open space for one of Sydney’s densest residential areas while retaining a nine-hole golf course, driving range and clubhouse.

Following extensive consultation with community and stakeholders who were asked to comment on how they would like to use the new park and how the existing golf offering at Moore Park could be reimagined, the NSW Government today released The Future of Moore Park South - What we heard report.

The report follows a discussion paper released by the NSW Government in February this year which outlined the plan to transform an area on the western side of Moore Park Golf Course to public open space.

While the NSW Government advised that “feedback from the golf community focussed on the importance of having a golf course that was publicly accessible, affordable and inclusive” it did not cite a high profile campaign against the repurposing from golfing stakeholders and Golf Australia, which had included letter-writing campaigns.

However, it did advise that NSW Government has been clear that golf will continue at Moore Park under a reimagined offering that will benefit golfers into the future.

It added that “feedback received will guide the design of the new park and the new golf offer at Moore Park.”

Themes of the redesign will include:

• A space for informal recreation, including walking, exercising and meeting family and friends

• Places for people to connect with and relax in nature, including nature play for children

• Easy and safe access integrated into surrounding public and active transport networks

• High quality supporting amenities such as toilets, a cafe and other community facilities

• Habitat preservation and creation

The NSW Budget 2024/25 committed $2.6 million for preliminary design and planning works to transform the space to better meet the needs of the whole community.

There will be further engagement on the design of the new park and golf offer with the community and stakeholders in 2025. This will include working with Transport for NSW and councils on access and movement considerations.

Supporters of the repurposing included other sporting bodies with Football NSW supporting more green space for football, while AFL NSW/ACT and Sydney Swans said there was an opportunity to “provide for all stakeholders”.

The Eastern Suburbs Football Association noted the demand for “organised football parks, facilities and clubs”.

Introducing the report, NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully stated “as we work to boost housing in NSW, delivering public infrastructure including parks is more important than ever to build healthy communities.

“This community and stakeholder feedback will help inform the design of Moore Park South.

“Discussions with the community and stakeholders will continue and we anticipate coming back with the new park design and golf offer in 2025.”

The golf course reconfiguration is proposed to take place after the expiration of the current operating agreement in mid-2026.

The NSW Government highlights that there are currently 690,000 people within a 5km radius of Centennial Parklands, with the population projected to rise to almost 790,000 in 2041. With the majority of these people living in apartments, townhouses or terraces, the new park will increase public access to green space, an important part of building better communities and improving the quality of life of nearby residents.

Images: Concepts for the future of Moore Park (top and below) and golf of the current 18-hole course (middle).