In Sydney’s most populated postcode, green space comes at a premium

In one of Sydney’s most developed suburbs, open space comes at a premium.

For the two new schools in Wentworth Point – a public school that opened in 2018 and a high school that opened in 2025 – a playing field created as part of a neighbouring development has proved a helpful release for students at the schools with limited outdoor space.

But it’s not just students who want to play there: locals and a sporting club are not yet allowed to access the field, despite it being planned to be “open space” for the community in the development.

State developer Landcom is building a 400-unit development at 9 Burroway Road, Wentworth Point. The developer was allowed to bypass some local planning controls because the project was listed as being state significant. Part of the project included plans for the sports field for public use.

The field is complete but wedged between a construction site and the two schools, meaning the public cannot access it. Construction of the field was sped up to be available to students when school returned this year.

Now the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure has received complaints. The Wentworth Point Titans Sports Club, a local sports group and gym operator run by former European handball champion Heba Aly and sponsored by the region’s mega-developer Billbergia, claims the schools’ exclusive access to the site essentially makes the field a private site, preventing it from being counted as part of Landcom’s public space contribution.

A letter from parliamentary secretary Greg Warren to local MP Donna Davis, shared with the club, heightened fears that the lock-out could become permanent.

“Once arrangements are made, the [Department of Education] envisages it will be granted control of the playing field and associated infrastructure under a licence agreement. Provided this arrangement proceeds, the department will utilise the field during school hours,” Warren wrote.

“Usage outside of school hours will be determined in the coming months and may include community recreation under the Share Our Space program and/or be subject to an Expression of Interest (EOI). Under an EOI, interested groups may be able to make a submission to use the field under a licence agreement at certain times.”

“There is no other oval to play on in Wentworth Point,” said club secretary Mark Green, who added that most sports facilities at nearby Sydney Olympic Park were either fully booked or prohibitively expensive. “You can’t put in your planning documents that it is a community oval, only for it to be finally pulled when it’s built.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Education confirmed the school had entered into an agreement with Landcom, whose spokesperson said the development was being delivered in accordance with the planning approvals.

“For 10 years the former government failed to deliver a park for the fast-growing population of Wentworth Point along with a full-sized sports field for the public school,” Davis said. “As a direct result we are playing catch-up.”

The Sydney Morning Herald has opened a bureau in the heart of Parramatta. Email parramatta@smh.com.au with news tips.