Sydney Scores a Mega New Park

Glebe and Forest Lodge residents have welcomed Harold Park, an expansive 3.8-hectare park that
sits on the site of a former paceway.

It features a custom-built playground, picnic and barbeque areas, leafy walkways and tree-lined “green” corridors that are hoped will entice wildlife into the area.

The site, next to the Tramsheds food precinct in Forest Lodge, leads to the Glebe foreshore, and also serves as a link to the nearby Bicentennial, Federal, Jubilee, Pope Paul and Blackwattle Bay parks. This last green space results in a continuous 20.6-hectare green corridor in Sydney’s inner city.

The park is considered a win for City of Sydney council. When Mirvac acquired the former Harold Park Paceway in 2010, the council specified the property developer was required to dedicate at least one third of the housing development site as a public park.

“The City fought hard over many years to retain control of the planning decisions for Harold Park, rather than lose them to the old State Part 3A planning laws that robbed communities of having a say,” the lord mayor Clover Moore said in a statement. The previous legislation gave the state planning minister discretion to fast track development approvals and override development plans made in consultation with the community.

Moore touts the park's sustainability credentials and design, saying it has “added value to the community”. Shelters scattered throughout the park echo the shape of the nearby sandstone cliffs, while their pressed-metal ceilings reflect the area’s homes. Bike and footpaths crisscross through the green space, and an extensive stormwater system will provide much of the park’s irrigation needs.