Woollahra Sailing Club acknowledges that we are on the land of the Birrabirragal people, the traditional custodians of the land. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
Council proposal to reduce rigging area
Update 6-Dec-2022.The Council Financial, Services & Community committee met on Monday 5-Dec-2022 and agreed to recommend to the General Committee of Council that the playground proposal proceeds largely unchanged.
In October the Council requested public comment. In the report to the "Financial, Services & Community committee" under the section Development of the Draft Concept Plan and public exhibition process (Round 2) it states "A total of 217 submissions were received. This consisted of 48 submissions in support of the overall design and 169 against the proposal." Little note was made of submissions from Australian Sailing, schools or the Commodore of the CYC.
Despite 75% of the submissions opposing the plan as it stands the Committee chose to recommend the General Committee of Council that the playground proposal proceeds largely unchanged.
FCS agenda 69-77 Report on WCS comments - Conclusion:
The Lyne Park Playground draft concept plan has been well supported and received by the majority of the community. There has been a very robust and extensive community engagement campaign since January 2022.
The design proposed will offer an inclusive and intergenerational recreational experiences for all abilities currently not offered anywhere in the Woollahra LGA open space network.
It is proposed that the draft concept plan be endorsed subject to the minor amendments mainly in response to the late concerns raised by the Woollahra Sailing Club in the final weeks of the public exhibition.
The recommendation of the Financial, Services & Community committee meeting did include the following concessions:
- A commitment to look for an alternative pathway to access the proposed accessible toilet so that it doesnt cross over the grassed area that is used for rigging. My understanding is that Council staff accepts that the toilet will likely only be accessed from the playground and be situated behind the playground fence. (As you are aware, building costs for the toilet are unfunded, and we have not yet been given an indication about when this new facility will be built.)
- A commitment to explore with the Club the opportunity to use some of the Council land behind the Clubs existing boat storage racks. The Councillors are under the impression that by moving the storage area back towards the road, more space will be freed up on the waterfront side of the Clubs premises for rigging?
- Erection of seating and tables for picnics behind the fenced area of the playground only.
If you would like to communicate further with Council please consider:
- Direct correspondence with one or more councillors. Their details are available at: https://www.woollahra.nsw.gov.au/council/mayor_and_councillors/councillors
- A letter to council - [email protected].
- A phone call to council - contact Vince Caccavo on 9391 7142.
Update 10-Nov-2022. Council have written to a number of our supports suggesting we have made "incorrect assumptions". In short, our response is that we strongly disagree with their correspondence. Additionally, we are pleased to hear that Woollahra Council have committed in writing to "continue to work closely with the Club."
The straight dark green line shows the current playground fence line. The blue lines show the boundaries of the current rigging area in question, the red area shows the area we believe will be impacted (partly or completely lost to rigging. The Yellow lines show access to the toilet by able bodied public possibly with young children whose head is at swinging boom level. We know we will not be able to safely rig boats on the path). It appears that we might lose up to half of this rigging area. Please note this area is Crown Land managed by Council and is separate to the Club's primary lease which is directly with Crown Lands. The rigging area in question is made available to the Club on a non exclusive licence from Council.
Dear Supporters,
Woollahra Council have a proposed change to the playground at Lyne Park that will dramatically reduce our rigging area. Please see the diagram above. We are a very active community multisport club. We are one of the most active Sailing & Paddling clubs in the country on a very small lot of land. We are already have significant space constraints. Any reduction in space will mean a reduction in community activity.
Please contact the Council to register your views on the proposal. This can be done via:
- A letter to council - [email protected].
- Completing the online survey.
- A phone call to council - contact Vince Caccavo on 9391 7142.
Please see below a sample letter that can be copied and changed as you feel appropriate. This letter, or variations thereof, has already been sent to councillors, directly from the Club. This content can also be used in the online survey.
The plans are available at: Lyne Park Playground Renewal | Your Say Woollahra (nsw.gov.au)
Woollahra Council has invited feedback.
Tell us what you think in the survey or forward your written comments to the attention of Council's Landscape Project Officer in an email to [email protected] (External link) by 5pm Friday 28 October 2022.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of this project, please contact Vince Caccavo on 9391 7142 during normal business hours.
Please contact council with your feedback asap.
If you require any further information, please contact us at [email protected].
Thank you for your support.
Kind regards
Ross BarrattFor and on behalf of
Woollahra Sailing Club
Dear Woollahra Council/Councillors,
We write with regard to the proposed changes to the Lyne Park playground and in support of Woollahra Sailing Club (WSC).
We believe that the Club is a great asset to the local economy and the community, and would hope that the local Council is supportive of its activities. At the moment it feels like the opposite is true. With the plans, as they stand, it will be impossible for the Club to continue to host some of the events and programmes currently run. For some of these events there is no alternative location on Sydney Harbour. We ask that the plans be amended such that there is no change to the Eastern fenceline and the rigging area available for Woollahra Sailing Club is not reduced.
We are very supportive of an accessibility toilet facility in Lyne Park and the expansion to the playground. WSC is a community Club and actively support all parts of our community. Where safe to do so they support less able sailors and kids learning to sail. In recent times WSC has taken many steps to improve inclusivity including engaging with the indigenous community and changes to the constitution and by-laws to ensure gender diversity on the board and committees.
We note that the detail, relating to this area, on display at Lyne Park Playground Renewal | Your Say Woollahra (nsw.gov.au), and in particular https://yoursay.woollahra.nsw.gov.au/75414/widgets/385117/documents/242823 varies significantly between page 3, 4 and 11.
Is it not possible to locate the accessibility toilet elsewhere in Lyne Park. The Park is very large and the WSC footprint very small in comparison. Could it be located adjascent to the accessibility carpark (to the southwest of the Club) or nearer the western corner of the playground or many other areas.
A quick note on why this is so important.
- According to the Australian Sailing Reports WSC is the 2nd largest sailing school (by course completion) in the country. Most of the lessons are provided to members of the community who are not members of the Club. During October and November this year WSC is providing sailing school lessons to nearly 450 students per week. In addition to this Scots College, Ascham, and Sydney Boys run their own programmes from the Club. In total, over 550, sailing lessons will be provided each week. We understand these numbers will be exceeded in the December to March period.
- WSC is multisport facility. WSC membership and storage include Kayaks, Canoes, Windsurfing, Stand up Paddle, Outrigger Canoes, and more in addition to Sailing. From WSC membership there are another 200 plus users of the club each week (in addition to Sailing School) and then in addition WSC hosts and run many events.
- WSC hosts and support many non-sailing events including Outrigger Canoes, Swimming, Swim Run, and Kayak, and more.
- WSC runs many sailing events. It is likely WSC runs more dinghy regattas than any other sailing club in the country. This includes Sail Sydney, the largest dinghy regatta in Australia each year with more than 500 participants, most aged 8 to 20. WSC also partner with SailGP to host the the Australian Sail GP team and the full SailGP junior programme.
- To do all this WSC are currently employing over 60 casual staff and six permanent staff. Most of the casual staff are age 16 to 22 and are members of the local community who are gaining valuable life and employment skills at the Club. nb. WSC pays for training for many of the staff.
WSC is a small multi-sports community Club. They do a lot for the local community and beyond. In terms of people per square metre per year WSC is one of the most active public spaces in the Council area. WSC currently struggle to do all this on a fraction of the space available to many Sailing Clubs, eg they do more sailing school and dinghy regattas than any other Sailing Club in the country including the large Yacht Clubs, many of which have five to ten times the land available to WSC. Space is already a major challenge for the Club requiring a lot of scheduling and moving of assets.
Please reconsider the proposed changes to the playground such that there is no impact on the very important community asset, Woollahra Sailing Club.
Kind regards
....
A sample of weekly activity
WSC Sailing School
WSC Sailing School
| Mondays | 44 |
| Tuesdays | 28 |
| Wednesdays | 39 |
| Thursdays | 39 |
| Fridays | 64 |
| Saturdays | 150 |
| Sundays | 73 |
| Total per week | 437 |
100+ from Scots, Ascham, & high.
200+ from members.
200+ from functions.
Total over 800 unique users per week.
Last updated 18:13 on 22 May 2023