CPCC’s Position on Northern Beaches Sporting Fields Shortage

Hi All,

Many of you will be aware of the public debate regarding the shortage of sports fields on the northern beaches.
You may have already received an email from other sporting associations requesting that you complete an online Northern Beaches Council Survey.

Whilst CPCC fully supports the creation of additional sports fields, the Committee believes that there are a number of issues with the wording and options in the survey.
What concerns us most is the potential for support expressed through the survey for additional playing fields, to be used as support for the destruction of Warringah Golf Course to achieve this outcome.

The CPCC committee does not support any proposal to convert Warringah Golf Course to playing fields for other sports.
Everyone would like to see our sports fields increased in number, better managed, developed, maintained and utilised.
These actions certainly should not be presented to the public as conditional on converting golf courses Carte blanche for use by other sporting codes – as they have been through this survey.
Warringah Golf Course is a valuable, accessible, affordable and well utilised recreation and sporting facility. It is also a beautiful green belt in the midst of a heavily developed section of the Northern Beaches.
Destruction of this through the conversion to playing fields would be a poor solution for our community and irreversible. We must demand better options from our elected officials.

Land releases at Ingleside and Warriewood Valley should address the decades of incompetency and neglect of planners, strategists and politicians at both the local and state government levels by providing more recreation space than is currently proposed.
The problem should not be thrown onto the Northern Beaches sporting community and general population to decide the future of each other’s sporting opportunities.
Such a process is extremely divisive – pitting sport against sport and even family member against family member. Cricketers and golfers share a close bond, as many cricketers are also avid golfers who retire to the golf course.

New open recreation space MUST BE FOUND otherwise development will continue and our net recreation space will remain the same.
If you agree with us and choose to fill out the survey please indicate your support for retaining Warringah Golf Course in the comments section.
Keep in mind that choosing Option A is a potential vote for converting Warringah Golf Course to achieve more sports fields (despite what you put in the comments section).
Option B is the only option available in the survey for those wishing to retain Warringah Golf Course, and achieve more sports fields.

Cick here to complete the survey. It is open until the end of this weekend.

We are sure there are innovative, sustainable and intelligent solutions to this issue which protects valued resources like Warringah Golf Course and caters for the growth in other sports.
We encourage you to join us in pushing for these solutions whilst protecting Warringah Golf Course.

Regards
Col Huxley
President – CPCC