Recently Mosman Council in Sydney rejected a Development Application for synthetic turf at Middle Head Oval, instead investing in complete turf redevelopment of the oval in 2018, at a cost of less than $500,000. The upgraded turf field receives 49-55 hours per week of sporting use during winter, as well as informal community use throughout the year, without significant loss of surface quality.
Carolyn Corrigan, Mayor of Mosman Council, stated “Council had to manage the tension between the sporting groups wanting more capacity, which every single councillor understood. We listened to the science, we worked with industry experts, we connected with council staff that work in the environment space, and we brought the community on board. Essentially, we all went on a journey together and we ended up coming to a place that I don’t think initially we thought we would. I think there was a strong drive to put synthetic turf on this oval. In actual fact, we’ve had a complete turnaround and it’s been a wonderful result.”