Ku-ring-gai Council has officially taken back the Norman Griffiths Oval site.
In May, Council terminated the multi-million-dollar contract with the builder, Turf One, and have begun assessing the project.
The heart of the upgrade was providing an all-weather synthetic surface at the grounds, fixed with new lighting, pathways, an electric scoreboard, and updated drainage, alongside other landscaping improvements.
But the major upgrade has been rife with issues. Originally the cost of the project was just south of $3.3 million, though was revised in April 2024 to almost $4.8 million, and again in February of 2025 to north of $6.8 million. Now projections have the cost over $13 million.
Image Courtesy of Bronwen Hanna
Setbacks included asbestos contamination uncovered during excavation of the site, which was hinted as potential concern in an early Contamination Assessment by SLR Consulting. After major rainfall, sediment was polluting Quarry Creek, and the pressure of two warnings issued from the Environmental Protection Agency has seen Council terminating the contract and regrouping.
This, construction delays, budget adjustments, community frustration, and design problems compounded to the outcome we have now: an unfinished field and an uncertain future.
Council is entertaining the option of building a natural turf field in comparison to a synthetic pitch.
Community members are far from pleased, especially those that have been fighting since the beginning of the project to keep the turf natural. Local group Natural Grass at Norman Griffiths took Ku-ring-gai Council to the Land and Environment Court over environmental concerns, staking their case on insufficient comprehensive flood water and pollutant studies. The Court ruled in Council’s favour.
Image Courtesy of Bronwen Hanna
‘The court case, even though we lost, highlighted what was wrong with the project. The case, in a way, was successful. The council’s own experts had to admit that the assessments were sketchy,’ explains Bronwen Hanna, a volunteer Bushcare Coordinator for the Quarry Creek site who resigned from the position when the Norman Griffiths project became a concern for her. Bronwen was key in bringing the case to the L&E Court. ‘Ratepayers are going to be paying for a field with projections of $13.4 million for a suburban soccer field. That’s got to be Australia’s most expensive football pitch.’
The solution, in Bronwen’s eyes, is a high quality, natural turf field.
‘The fields in Ku-ring-gai are badly designed and badly drained. And the soccer clubs are rightly frustrated by that, so they think that synthetics are the only option forward… but you can’t dog walk, they are incredibly hot in summer even with cork infill. We need multipurpose ovals, that can be used not just for one sport, but many recreational activities—it would be much more valuable for the money. That would be a win for the community.’
