transport · Woollahra Municipal Council
Netball-only courts advance at Woollahra Oval, with 9pm lighting limit
Woollahra Oval 2 and 3 will undergo environmental, traffic, parking and noise investigations before Council considers whether to proceed. Basketball courts were excluded.
Plans for netball courts at Woollahra Oval 2 and 3 have advanced, with basketball removed from the proposal and court lighting limited to no later than 9pm.
Woollahra Municipal Council’s Strategic & Corporate Committee resolved to prepare a Review of Environmental Factors before any further decision on the project. The review must examine environmental and community impacts, including parking capacity, traffic and parking management, acoustic impacts, tree planting, access and consultation with existing sporting groups.
Lighting is to be directed at the courts, with poles kept as low as possible to limit spill. The resolution also requires investigation of improvements to the access gate and pathways serving Ovals 2 and 3.
Council is to investigate redesigning the existing car park to increase capacity and operational measures to manage traffic and parking. It is also to discuss planting trees and shrubs on adjoining Cranbrook School land, and plant along boundaries near Mannion Avenue and Kent Road, including replacing the former jacaranda near the Kent Road boundary.
During the winter sports season, netball activities on Tuesdays and Thursdays are to finish by 6pm to reduce overlap with rugby training scheduled to start at 6.30pm. Netball is to receive priority over basketball in any booking system, although basketball courts were excluded from the proposal itself.
The court recommendation passed 10 votes to four after an amendment was carried on the Mayor’s casting vote. Councillor Hugh Woodgate left and did not vote after declaring a significant pecuniary interest because his employer had recently provided consulting services to 28 Kent Road, Rose Bay, and a resident of that building had registered to address the item.
Councillor Julian Parmegiani declared a non-significant, non-pecuniary interest because he attended guitar lessons at a home on Mannion Avenue, next to the proposed site. He remained in the meeting and voted.
A further report is required after the environmental review and specialist studies are completed. Residents and sporting users will have further opportunities to comment on the project’s traffic, parking, noise, lighting, landscaping and access impacts.
Reference minutes
This report covers Woollahra Municipal Council’s Strategic & Corporate Committee meeting of 14 September 2026.
Key facts from the minutes
- The proposed courts are at Woollahra Oval 2 and 3.
- Basketball courts were excluded from the final proposal.
- Court lighting must finish by 9pm, with low poles directed at the courts.
- The environmental assessment must examine parking, traffic, acoustic impacts, tree planting and access.
- The recommendation passed 10 votes to four after an amendment was carried on the Mayor’s casting vote.
- Netball activities on Tuesdays and Thursdays must finish by 6pm during winter sports season.
Why it matters
- The proposal is limited to netball, with parking, traffic, noise, lighting, landscaping and access to be assessed before Council considers its next step.