City of Ryde Mayor Trenton Brown has reaffirmed Council's commitment to pursuing the compulsory acquisition of TG Millner Fields following the latest State Government rejection of a housing proposal on the 6.2ha Marsfield site.
Mayor Brown told ABC Radio Sydney Mornings host Hamish Macdonald during a live broadcast from Eastwood Plaza on Thursday 27 February that TG Millner was needed for essential open space as the nearby Macquarie Park Innovation District (MPID) prepares to bear the brunt of the State Government's proposed housing uplift in the area.
"We need more open space and more green space for people in apartments to live and play and recreate. So that is a crucial site, and I want to protect it and move to compulsory acquisition," Mayor Brown said.
"Council should acquire that site from the current owners, the North Ryde RSL, and importantly then go through the embellishment program. And I think the Federal Government can step in (and support the embellishment) in the same way they've done at Leichhardt Oval."
A proposal by North Ryde RSL and developer Winston Langley to construct 132 low rise dwellings on the site was rejected as a State Significant Development by the newly formed Housing Delivery Authority (HDA) on 7 February 2025.
The proposal failed to satisfy the objectives and criteria of the HDA Expression of Interest in a number of areas, including that it did not deliver more homes within the Housing Accord period, was not well-located and did not provide a positive commitment to affordable housing.
It's the second time that the proposal has been rejected at state level.
In a unanimous decision handed down in December 2022, the Sydney North Planning Panel resolved that the proposal to construct 132 terrace homes 'failed to adequately demonstrate Strategic Merit' and that TG Millner 'has the potential to contribute to the amount of open space needed to service the future population of Ryde LGA'.
At its December 2024 Ordinary Meeting, Council identified the additional funding required for the compulsory purchase of TG Millner ahead of recommencing the acquisition process.
Mayor Brown said it was important that the State Government 'strike the right balance' between its proposed housing uplift and employment opportunities for current and future residents as well as the provision of essential accompanying infrastructure.
"In a housing crisis, we are doing a lot of the heavy lifting for Greater Sydney in this area with additional housing supply, especially in the MPID, where we have about 22,000 apartments currently approved or going through the approval pipeline," he said.
"And in addition to that, there's another 15,000 proposed. That's an extraordinary number of increased housing stock.
"TG Millner is located only about 100 or 200 metres from the Epping Road corridor and that's where 37,000 apartments are going to be built. If you build the additional apartments, you need additional investment in education, hospitals, green space, and sporting fields.
"We have a deficit of 15 sporting fields today for our existing population and that will increase to a deficit of 21 sports fields in in 15 years' time with the added population. You cannot keep increasing population without making additional community investments – and that includes the paths, the cycleways, the walkways, and the open space."
