Locals Call for Third Umpire Review of Council Decisions

The contest for the $16.6 million trophy of publicly funded facilities in the former Pony Club site in Fred Caterson Reserve began a decade ago. The problem is, only one side knew the game had started. 

Eastwood District Rugby Union Football Club (EDRUFC) quietly approached The Hills Shire Council in 2016, beginning a private conversation with councillors and staff, lobbying to have 6.8 hectares of Crown Land (the Pony Club land) and publicly funded infrastructure become their new home ground in Castle Hill.

By June 2017, it seems the conversation between the parties was well developed, with Eastwood commissioning Populous to create concept plans titled “Eastwood Rugby Grounds. Gilbert Road, Castle Hill.” 

What is now at stake goes far beyond sport. The proposal results in the quarantining of public green space, the loss of quiet residential amenity and Critically Endangered bushland habitat, including that of the Powerful, Masked and Sooty Owls. The impact on the Platypus is unknown because the environmental studies commissioned by Council simply did not consider them even though stormwater from the entire Pony Club lands (including the asphalt carparks and three full sized fertilised rugby union fields) will be directed into Cattai Creek where they live. The scale of investment in this development and the significant impact on the community and the environment should demand the highest standard of transparency, fairness, and accountability.

Those who buy into the new housing apartments in the Castle Hill Showground Precinct are funding the $16,615,242 million dollar development which will ultimately become Eastwood Rugby Club’s new home ground.

The Pony Club land in Fred Caterson Reserve was originally proposed by The Hills Shire Council for community playing fields, including 1 cricket oval, to cater for the additional needs of future residents living in the new Showground precinct development. 

A key council document, the “Contributions Plan No.19 – Showground Precinct (2018)” [page 22] states the following; 

“Expansion of Fred Caterson Reserve to provide an additional 3 single playing fields (allowing for 1 cricket oval) and associated parking, and amenities”, and 

“The demand for this active open space is solely generated by the residential development within the Showground Precinct, and it is therefore appropriate that residential development within this area be subject to the full cost of providing these open space facilities.”

But in 2020, without providing any demographic or sporting participation data, The Hills Shire Council abandoned their plans for multisport community fields in favour of a 3-field Premier Rugby Union facility for Eastwood (EDRUFC).

Why did The Hills Shire Council change its plans? In the absence of any reasonable explanation the community can only speculate.

Council made a Captain’s call to build 10 times the required number of Rugby Union fields.

In the Council document titled The Hills Corridor Strategy (2015) [page 48], it was calculated that the entire Metro Line from Cherrybrook to Rouse Hill would generate the need for just 1/3 (that’s right, one third!) of a new rugby union field. The figure was based on “recreation standards, which factor in participation rates for each sport”. 

In 2025 however, The Hills Shire Council awarded the tender contract to construct 3 new Rugby Union fields, spending $16.6 million dollars of public money to build ten times what is required. 

So, what has changed to justify the expenditure? 

In my opinion a decision like this doesn’t pass the pub test.

A Public Inquiry is needed.

The community is seeking a public inquiry. Locals demand oversight of the decisions made by Council in relation to the building of a Premier Rugby Union Precinct in Fred Caterson Reserve.

The Local Government Act 1993 (LGA), is a significant piece of legislation in New South Wales that establishes the framework to which local governments must comply. When people feel their council is falling short on many guiding principles of the LGA, trust is eroded and democracy fails.

If residents don’t trust their council to act fairly and without bias, who can they turn to? They call upon their State government Ministers to hold Council to the highest standard of the LGA and to investigate the propriety of their determinations. 

Hills residents are requesting the New South Wales state Labor government be the third umpire and announce either an Upper House Inquiry into the Hills Shire Council decision and whether it has acted openly and transparently in accordance with the LGA, or for the Minister for Local Government to hold an inquiry under the LGA.

The Hills community deserve a Council which is transparent and gives the rate payer a fair go.

Land and Environment court case.

Meanwhile, the development is currently the subject of a Land and Environment Court application lodged by Fred Caterson Champions Inc against The Hills Shire Council because that is the only avenue open to us. The case alleges there are multiple inadequacies with the development’s Review of Environmental Factors. 

The law allows the Council to decide what it wants (3 x rugby union fields), then commission an environmental consultant to do a report on what it wants (3 x rugby union fields), then a member of Council staff approves the ‘activity’!

In our opinion the Council did not conduct an environmental review which properly considered the Powerful Owls that nest in Fred Caterson Reserve, nor did it properly consider the platypus or the Critically Endangered Turpentine Ironbark Forest that grows on the Pony Club site. If they had, such a costly and time consuming exercise as taking our own Council to court would have been unnecessary.  We will keep you posted.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption is asking questions.

The Hills Shire Council’s proposed development of Fred Caterson Reserve has attracted prolonged and strong opposition from residents across The Hills, with many in the community calling foul on Council’s decision making process.  

What many of you will not know is that in late 2025 the NSW Department of Crown Lands issued the following statement:

“The Department of Crown Lands acknowledges the enquiries being made of Council by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and has determined that it will pause its assessment of the generic Plan of Management, which includes Fred Caterson Reserve.”

Fair go, Ref! 

What should have been a straightforward project now appears as an opaque decision-making process, marked by the withholding of documents and limited public consultation by Council on one side, and consistent lobbying by a well resourced Rugby Union club on the other. 

Has the match been fixed all along? Why, in 2019, did the Council exhibit and then adopt a contributions plan that said we needed a cricket oval and two other fields for the increased population at the Showground Precinct (so they should pay for it) , but then exhibit and adopt a plan in 2020 to have Eastwood District Rugby Union Football Club have the Pony Club land as their home ground?  

Communities expect Councils to act on their behalf with integrity, transparency and ethical decision making. It’s time for the third umpire to step in with a slow motion replay complete with ball tracking!  

As Australia Day approaches, The Hills Shire Council needs to be reminded of one of our most strongly held national values; that of everyone having a “fair go”. 

Every decision that affects public land and public money should be made in an open and transparent manner, ensuring fairness and giving every Australian an equal shot at the trophy, particularly when council’s key role is to serve the community.

Is it too much to expect a level playing field for all? Surely not.