Calls for land to be used for Bally Boys
An application for a five-year lease at Balgowlah Golf Club has caused a stir in the community, with parents at the nearby Balgowlah Boys High School and Warringah MP Zali Steggall saying they wanted other options for the site.
The club was slated to be bulldozed for the Beaches Link until the project was canned in 2023. It is seeking a five-year lease from Northern Beaches Council.
Colin Cardwell, president of Balgowlah Boys Parents & Citizens Ass, told Peninsula Living (PL) the school was promised an upgrade in 2023 by the previous State Government, which was then cancelled by Labor.
The state’s highest-performing non-selective school in the HSC has jumped from 600 to 1,100 students in 10 years.
“It’s way beyond its natural capacity,” Mr Cardwell said. “It is a 60 to 70-year-old building and it’s very rundown.”
Mr Cardwell said that if the Beaches Link had proceeded, there was ’a fairly firm plan’ in place for school recreation grounds on the golf club site after the tunnel was built.
“If you were ever going to close the golf club, now is the best time to do it,” Mr Cardwell said. “The membership’s low. They have no money. The course is in a terrible state.”
Club president Flora Johnson disputed this, saying membership was up, with 25,000 rounds of golf played last year. She stated the club was ‘affordable,’ but acknowledged it needed some work.
“The course needs some improving, but if we had the lease in place, at least we’d know we weren’t wasting money.”
Ms Johnson added that if the club was refused its lease, it did not mean there would be sports fields on the site.
“There is no funding in place, there are no plans (for sports fields),” she said. “It’s not on the council’s agenda.”
Zali Steggall said a balance needed to be found, with ‘limited crown land available for community use’. “While many people in the community are golfers, we also currently face a notable shortage of sporting fields for younger generations,” Ms Steggall told PL.
Balgowlah Boys was growing and had ‘limited outdoor space and ageing facilities that are in dire need of attention,’ Ms Steggall added.
“There would be few people in the community who would argue that the boys and the fabulous teachers and staff don’t deserve more support.”
Council is collating submissions.