Cricket NSW Centre of Excellence

To whom it may concern,
NSWCUSA is delighted to support the new NSW Cricket Centre being proposed for Olympic Park.
Cricket has provided wonderful opportunities for members of NSWCUSA to participate and experience the joy of cricket in a safe and welcoming environment.
As Australia’s major summer sport cricket provides opportunities for people of all ages to maintain their engagement.
The more facilities we have to encourage our members to be involved in cricket the more beneficial it will be to our community as a whole.
This new cricket facility offers an exciting opportunity for all those who want to be a part of the game they love.
Match officiating has witnessed a large increase of female involvement and this facility will provide extra opportunities for females to be involved.
And the location of the centre in the heart of Great Sydney makes it more accessible to our many in Sydney’s Western Suburbs.
NSWCUSA believes this development will have a beneficial impact on many of our members for decades to come.
Regards,
Troy Penman
Executive Officer, NSWCUSA

Please find attached letter of support from The Hon. John Howard OM AC

Please find attached letter of support from Alistair Nicholson, CEO of Australian Cricketers' Association

Application number SSD-10354
Cricket NSW Olympic Park Development
To whom it may concern,
As a Sydney Thunder Big Bash League player for the past five years who has committed to the club with a long term contract I am writing to support the Cricket NSW development at Wilson Park in the Olympic Park precinct.
The Sydney Thunder has become part of the sporting fabric in NSW over the past decade yet as a club we still doesn’t have a base to call home.
While the Sydney Showgrounds has proved a good playing arena for our members and fans to watch our men’s team, the club has never had a firm foothold as a permanent fixture in the heart of greater Sydney.
We have had a variety of temporary offices and as players we have been forced to train at a number of venues offering different levels of facilities.
The new State of the Art Cricket and Community Centre will not only allow the Thunder Men’s and Women’s teams to become better and more competitive in an ever tougher and more professional competition, it also gives greater opportunities to our academy players, including our indigenous male and female teams, to enhance their stills and train alongside their heroes.
It will also allow us to contribute even more at a community level, which has become our Thunder Nation.
The Thunder Nation Cup draws teams from a diverse range of community groups. The new facility will help us to stage community events like this with more certainty in the future.
We believe the new development will be a vital part of NSW sporting infrastructure for decades to come.

CHRIS GREEN

Please find attached letter of support from Kevin Roberts, CEO of Cricket Australia

I refer to the State Significant Development Application for the Cricket NSW Centre of Excellence (SSD-10354) located at Wilson Park, Silverwater Road, Sydney Olympic Park.

The proposed development is located directly adjacent to the Silverwater Correctional Complex which contains the main metropolitan correctional centre, housing male and female sentenced and remand inmates of all security classifications.

The Department of Communities & Justice (DCJ) acknowledges that the proposed development is an appropriate use of the subject site and is permissible in the zone. As such, DCJ does not raise any major objections to the proposed development, however the following matters/issues are of concern (as outlined below) and need to be addressed:

1. The development may result in security and operational impacts for the Silverwater Correctional Complex, depending on the design, location and height of buildings, boundary treatments and vehicular access;
2. The hours of evening use of outdoor sporting facilities and other noise/light generating activities need to be limited on account of the adjacent prison inmate accommodation.
3. Vehicular access to the new development should be limited primarily to Silverwater Road/Clyde Street, rather than Newington Road.
4. Recording and televising of cricket matches may result in security impacts for the Silverwater Correctional Complex. In particular, no drones are permitted in this area.

DCJ needs to ensure that it can maintain appropriate levels of security of the correctional complex and meet its obligations to inmates in custody. In regard to the above requirements, the following comments are provided in regard to the proposed development:

1. Design and Layout:
No objection is located to the layout or design of the proposed development as it is noted that no buildings will be sited in locations that overlook the prison.

It is noted, however, in the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Report (Page 12) that new perimeter fencing is proposed along the shared boundary with the Silverwater Correctional Complex. Any future perimeter fencing should be of a design and materials so as to prevent any visual access into the adjoining Correctional Complex and to prevent any items/contraband materials being thrown through to the facility (i.e cannot be climbed). Any proposed fencing along the boundary adjacent to the Correctional facility needs to be endorsed by DCJ to ensure privacy and security operations are not compromised.

2. Hours of Operation and Lighting:
The Event Management Statement submitted appears to contain contradictory and/or unclear statements in regard to the proposed hours of operation and lighting. Section 8.4 of the Report (Page 7) states that the hours of operation will be:
Monday – Friday – 7:00am – 7:00pm
Saturday, Saturday and Public Holidays – Closed
The Indoor Cricket Centre will operate from 6:00am – 11:00pm

Section 10.0 of the report (p.7) states that:
"It is important to note that no sports lighting is proposed for the external cricket nets and ovals". However, section 11.0 (on p.8) indicates that Ovals 1 and 2 will operate up until 10pm daily. There is a note indicating that "no sports lighting is proposed", and it is further noted that the Lighting Strategy submitted with the documentation does not include sports lighting. However, it is unclear how the external ovals will be able to be used until 10pm at night with no sports lighting provided.

High levels of illumination from sports lighting is of a major concern, as is noise, for the operations of the Silverwater Correctional Complex. Security lighting and carpark lighting adjacent to the Correctional Complex is also of concern. Noise and light could disturb inmates, particularly in Silverwater Women’s which shares a boundary with the cricket site. If inmates can’t sleep or have quiet to participate in therapeutic programs etc, this could cause issues with Ombudsman and Custodial Inspectors which will adversely affect the ability to operate the prison.

It should be noted that noise and operating hours should also be limited during construction periods for the same reasons provided above.

3. Vehicular access along Newington Road:
Whilst it is acknowledged that Newington Road is a public road, at present it maintains low traffic levels. The new cricket facility will result in increased traffic along Newington Road. The recently completed Silverwater Correctional Centre Masterplan has moved the entry point for all prison inmate movements to Newington Road (western side of the Correctional Complex) due to Newington Road having the lowest public vehicle traffic of the perimeter road network (compared to Holker Street and Jamieson Street). Any increase in public traffic along Newington Road could result in conflicts with prison inmate movements and security operations. It is requested that vehicular access along Newington Road be kept to a minimum.

Similarly, to prevent conflicts with prison inmate movements and to reduce noise levels adjacent to the Correctional Complex, all construction vehicle access during the construction of the new development should be limited to Silverwater Road/Clyde Street.

4. For safety and security reasons, no drones are permitted in the area (in accordance with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority's requirements under the Civil Aviation Act and Regulations). This may have an impact on the use of the proposed cricket facilities if media/communication events are to be held and/or matches recorded/televised. This is a matter that needs to be considered as this is a much needed security measure for the the Correctional Complex and cannot be changed.

Thank you for your consideration in regard to the matters raised above. If you have any questions or need further clarification, please contact me on the details provided below.

Kind regards
Catherine Colville
Senior Manager - Environment, Planning & Heritage
Infrastructure and Assets
Department of Communities and Justice
Level 2, 50 Phillip Street, Sydney NSW 2000
GPO Box 6, Sydney NSW 2001 | DX 1227
P: 02 8688 3654 | M: 0456 721 195
[email protected]

Application number SSD-10354
Cricket NSW Development at Sydney Olympic Park
To whom it may concern,
As Sydney Thunder Women’s Big Bash League captain I write on behalf of our female players in support of the new cricket centre development proposed for Olympic Park.
Cricket, particularly women’s cricket, has entered a new era and the facilities available to our current and future generations of players need to reflect this.
When I began playing state cricket a decade or so ago each state had only one senior male and female team.
Now NSW has six professional teams, three male and three female, with the current group of female players the first in history to be able to pursue cricket as a career.
However facilities have failed to keep pace with the professionalism of the women’s game.
A new high performance centre will better enable players to enhance this professionalism and give future generations the opportunity to be their best.
It is an exciting time to be a female cricketer, being part of an amazing journey which has seen girls only teams explode and the Women’s Big Bash League grab the next generation.
There are opportunities for talented young sportswomen to live their dream as professional cricketers.
With that dream comes the need for facilities which can develop and enhance them to a skill and physical level which will allow them to perform as professional cricketers in an ever more demanding environment.

Rachael Haynes

The re-location of Cricket NSW training facilities to Wilson Park, Silverwater makes the facility much more accessible to not only members of our association, but with the centre close to the geographical centre of Sydney, to many more young cricketers in the growth areas of western Sydney.
With the popularity of the WBBL, we are planning for a large growth in girls cricket. This facility will help support the growth of women's cricket and help improve the standard of women's cricket and improving the depth of high skilled players.
Having one facility where high performance players and coaches can mix with the general cricket community can only help retain young players in the sport and improve their technical ability.
I expect the facility will also assist in running courses for coaches as well as umpire courses. The central location will help boost the number of qualified coaches and umpires.

Please refer to the response provided by the Greater Sydney / Regional and Outer Metropolitan Division at TfNSW.

Please see attached Council submission on the Wilson Park redevelopment.

Please see attached EPA submission Parts 1 & 2