Moore Park East to be transformed to increase community green space

Greater Sydney Parklands (GSP) progressed planning for a Landscape Plan for Moore Park East following the commencement of the Greater Sydney Parklands Trust Act 2022, which will see the gradual staged removal of event car parking from the grassed areas of Moore Park. The Landscape Plan builds on the objectives of the Moore Park Master Plan 2040 and acts as a blueprint for how GSP can bring that vision to life.
 
It includes plans for a variety of community recreational uses to better meet the needs of local residents, improve connectivity and accessibility, support community sport as well as high-performance sporting groups, and enhance the natural environment.

The Landscape Plan will be delivered in stages overtime as funding becomes available and in line with the staged removal of on-grass parking. Stage one and two were completed in early 2024.

Stage one focused on landscape improvements to the Village Green precinct around Upper Kippax. This included soil improvement, planting of over 17,000 plants including mature native trees, remediating degraded areas with new turf and removing redundant vehicle infrastructure.

Stage two works included the replacement of the cricket wicket at Upper Kippax, field upgrades to the Kippax Lake Field, used by the Roosters as a training field and the installation of a new electrical substation to power the precinct and high-performance sports field lighting.

Stage three works will focus on landscape and environmental improvements around Kippax Lake. This work will commence in 2024 and will be staged over a number of years.
 
We will continue to provide updates on the roll out of the Landscape Plan as funding becomes available and further works are undertaken.

Community and stakeholder feedback was critical for developing a plan for this important piece of parkland. The consultation on the Landscape Plan builds upon the engagement that was undertaken for the Moore Park Master Plan 2040.

We worked closely with the community, in developing the Moore Park East Landscape Plan. A detailed and inclusive program of consultation was carried out between December 2021 and September 2022. During this time, GSP consulted with community groups, local sporting groups and First Nations peoples, and heard from hundreds of stakeholders and community members. You can read the outcomes report.

A total of $5 million has been invested into Moore Park East as per the Moore Park East Landscape Plan.

Further works will be delivered in stages over several years as funding becomes available and in line with the staged removal of on-grass car parking

Upgrades to Moore Park East will increase quality green space for the communities surrounding Moore Park, particularly those suburbs directly to the north and west including Paddington, Surry Hills and Green Square. It will enhance connections to neighbouring communities through new and upgraded park entries and pathways, which will improve accessibility and safety for people visiting the precinct to attend major events.

The northern part of Moore Park East and around Kippax Lake will have a strong community focus.

Upgrades include:

• Lawn terraces as places to sit and watch sport
• A community oval for recreational play and sport use
• Improved seating and nature play areas for children
• Landscaping, shade tree planting, and attractive understory planting
• Improvements to pathways, wayfinding, and lighting for better connections through the park.

The Moore Park Master Plan 2040 notes the important role of Moore Park East in supporting major events. The Landscape Plan acknowledges that Moore Park East plays a dual role as a community green space and thoroughfare for major events at the adjacent Sydney Cricket Ground and Allianz Stadium.

The Landscape Plan will enhance the pedestrian experience for large crowds to the precinct by widening paths and creating shaded walkways with more wayfinding signate and extra lighting to increase accessibility and safety for people visiting the precinct to attend major events. This will make it easier for patrons to travel between Tibby Cotter Bridge, the light rail station and the stadia on Driver Avenue.

We will also explore how Driver Avenue can better support major events, while creating a more friendly pedestrian and cycling environment.

The Landscape Plan outlines a significant increase in native understory plantings beneath the fig trees along Moore Park Road and Driver Avenue, which will provide both food and habitat for small birds and animals.

The Plan outlines GSP’s commitment to protecting the wildlife at Kippax Lake. The future renewal of Kippax Lake will be sensitive to the needs of the local aquatic birds (commonly sighted birds include Black Swan, Hardhead, Pacific Black Duck, Australasian Grebe, Eurasian Coot). Improvements will be made in line with specialist advice and will include introducing a variety of plants available for grazing and exploring opportunities to naturally clean water within the lake.

High performance sport is a key part of Moore Park’s identity.

The Moore Park Master Plan 2040 clearly identified Moore Park East as a place that can be used by both community and high-performance sporting groups, as well as providing the community with appropriate spaces for recreation, events, and connection to nature. The Landscape Plan informs how these complementary uses can be better balanced to benefit both the community as well as high-performance sport.

The Landscape Plan outlines the opportunity to deliver new and upgraded training facilities for high-performance sport, following the removal of parking at Lower Kippax and Showground Field.

Stage 2 works delivered an $3.6 million upgrade to Kippax Lake Field, funded in partnership with the Sydney Roosters. The upgrade provides a high-performance training facility for professional teams while ensuring the field is available for casual community use most of the time.

Improvements include: 

• a new laser levelled superior grass surface with supporting irrigation
• an additional off field training zone to reduce field wear
• advanced field camera technologies for high performance sports data collection 
• a new 400Amp substation to provide power to new sports field lighting and to future proof the MPE precincts’ public precinct lighting power needs 
• planting of 30+ advanced trees and 16,000 ground covers
• Improved spectator area through landscape sculpting  
• a new community cricket wicket on Upper Kippax field 
• removal of redundant parking infrastructure

The Landscape Plan also provides for multifunctional uses. Community and high-performance sporting uses remain, opportunities for spectating will be increased, and there is better provision of community infrastructure for social and passive uses.

Moore Park East hosts a range of community sporting groups each week, with the primary user groups being local cricket clubs and organisations, and local schools.

The Landscape Plan included an upgrade to the synthetic cricket wicket and field at the Village Green where on-grass car parking has already been removed and community sport is already played.

Moore Park East will also be able to better cater for a range of sporting experiences from kicking a ball around with friends to joining a community sporting match or watching your favourite high-performance sporting groups train.

Fields can be used by the community for low impact passive recreation when not in use by a hirer or closed for maintenance. This will continue following the renewal of Moore Park East.

We want Moore Park East to be a place where people will be able to pause, relax and enjoy nature.

The Landscape Plan proposes a range of locations for people to sit and rest. These include:

• The Village Green – new seating under the fig trees and grassy terraces will provide places to sit on and enjoy park life
• Kippax Lake – grassy lawns will remain, providing sheltered space for picnics, yoga and other passive activities, integrated with beautiful understory planting.

Dogs will continue to be welcome at Moore Park and across Centennial Parklands.
 
Extensive consultation on the draft Moore Park East landscape plan took place between 22 July and 11 September 2022. Greater Sydney Parklands invited feedback from community members and stakeholders about the future of Moore Park East.
 
This informed the the What We Heard Report, proposing all areas of Moore Park East were become on-leash at the completion of the Village Green works to see better protection for wildlife at Kippax Lake.
 
We will consult and communicate further with the community before any potential changes are made. GSP urges dog owners to act responsibly and review our guidelines: Your Guide For Dogs

• As of June 7, 2024, additional parking spaces will be made available for Sporting Club of Sydney members on the hardstand area of EP3 (Showground Field) on non-event days, while Driver Avenue arrangements will continue until the completion of the project.
• Further parking spaces will continue to be available for the community at the southern end of Driver Avenue, closer to the Moore Park Light Rail station and pedestrian entries to the Entertainment Quarter and Sydney Swans HQ.  
• This is a whole-of-precinct approach that will help accelerate the completion of the Village Precinct and Car Park by 20 months and bring forward the permanent removal of on-grass parking from Moore Park East as quickly as possible.
• The Village Precinct and Car Park will deliver new public open space for the community to enjoy, a kids’ playground, new food and beverage offerings and parking for up to 1500 car spaces.

• Lower Kippax – opposite Allianz Stadium at the northern end of Driver Avenue, enter from Moore Park Road.
• Showgrounds Field – Corner of Lang Road and Driver Avenue.  Enter via Driver Avenue from Lang Road. 
• Moore Park Golf – Enter via Cleveland Street.

During extensive community consultation, Greater Sydney Parklands (GSP) received three requests for practice wickets in Moore Park East, including from Cricket NSW, who also requested a reorientation of the Village Green synthetic wicket.

GSP has completed an upgrade and reorientation to the Village Green cricket wicket.

We have committed to investigate (as funding becomes available) the provision of cricket nets within the wider parklands, as there are a number of other areas of Moore Park and Centennial Park where a greater intensity of cricket activity occurs. For example, there are five synthetic wickets in Moore Park South.