A Sydney council has come under fire for its long-delayed plans to replace an upper north shore grass oval with a synthetic sports field as new figures show that project costs have blown out from $3.3 million to $20.2 million.
Ku-ring-gai Council estimated in September that the total cost to upgrade Norman Griffiths Oval in West Pymble was $12.3 million, up from $3.3 million in 2023. But a report from the coming April 28 council meeting shows the budget has ballooned to $20.2 million, marking the latest flashpoint in a saga that has troubled three consecutive councillor cohorts.
The idea for an all-weather field to boost sports participation and prevent washouts was floated almost a decade ago. In 2020, the council approved plans to build a synthetic turf surface, plus lighting, pathways, an electronic scoreboard and a stormwater detention basin, attracting backlash from community and environmental groups.
The site has been in limbo since the council fired contractors Turf One and told it to lay down tools last May, embroiling the parties in a legal dispute. In March, the council paid the contractors $4.4 million – almost a quarter of the $20.2 million budget – after Turf One lodged an adjudication claim for $7.3 million.
The state-managed public works advisory has since intervened and said the completion date could be as late as May 2027 – almost four years after the council’s original November 2023 estimate.
The council declined to share with the Herald reports from an independent investigation into the saga, as well as two confidential reports titled “Breakdown of the high-level costs to complete” and “Legal advice”.
Across NSW, local councils are struggling to keep their finances afloat while delivering infrastructure. A recent government audit revealed that less than a quarter of major council infrastructure projects were delivered on time and within budget.
In the report, the council says the oval had “much greater complexity than an ordinary field” and cited issues with the contractor’s unsuitable materials and poor workmanship, which required “substantial costly corrective works”.
Ku-ring-gai councillor Matt Devlin said there were “clearly faults on both sides of the equation”.
“How does it take so long to build an oval? It’s come at a significant cost to everyone in the LGA. It is an absolute joke,” he said.
A council spokesperson said the cost blowouts were unrelated to the 29 per cent rate rise Ku-ring-gai was proposing in 2026-27, but instead that it had been paid for by funds set aside in the council’s infrastructure and facilities reserve.
Stephen Hill, chief executive of BildGroup (Turf One’s parent company), said the council was pushing blame onto others.
“I’m not sitting here saying we’re clean – we got caught in the middle of a tit-for-tat. Since the first day, this process has been in complete shambles,” he said. “We’re outraged. I have never seen mismanagement like this.”
State MP Matt Cross said the council “must come clean” on the oval’s funding: “Is it coming from the rate hike, cash reserves or somewhere else?”
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