This page summarises publicly available information, information available via GIPA documents and common questions raised by residents. It is intended to inform, not accuse. Readers are encouraged to review source documents and form their own views.
Some residents are concerned about how the redevelopment of Fred Caterson Reserve is being planned and delivered.
The concerns are mainly about:
Loss of bushland and open space
How a specific club proposal was selected
How developer contributions (public funds) are being used
Whether information was shared clearly and early enough
Whether consultation reached those most directly affected
Not everyone opposes the new fields.
Many concerns relate to process, transparency, environmental impact and funding — not sport itself. .
The current plan includes:
Three new playing fields on the former Pony Club site
Associated parking and amenities
The site forms part of a larger bushland reserve used for nature and passive recreation.
No.
Residents are not debating whether rugby is valuable. The question raised is whether the facility is intended primarily for general community use or primarily for a specific club.
Draft licence discussions indicate that Eastwood District Rugby Union Football Club may receive significant allocated use. Some residents say this was not clearly understood at the outset.
The main concern relates to developer contributions.
Developer contributions (such as Contributions Plan No. 19 allotted Fred Caterson community fields including a cricket field) are funds paid by property developers to help build infrastructure for the growing local community.
Some residents are asking:
Should these public funds be used for facilities that may be largely allocated to a single club?
Was this the intended purpose of those contributions?
Was the allocation clearly explained when decisions were made?
These are funding and governance questions, not personal criticisms of the club.
When new housing developments are approved, developers pay contributions to help fund things like:
Roads
Parks
Sporting fields
Community infrastructure
These funds are meant to benefit the wider community.
Some residents are asking whether the proposed access arrangements reflect the level of public funding involved.
These are governance and funding questions, not personal criticism of any club.
Council adopted both:
The Masterplan for the site, and
The Expression of Interest proposal from Eastwood Rugby
at the same Council meeting in November 2020. (Refer Minutes 2020.11.24 and on Council website)
Some residents have questioned:
Whether earlier background discussions were clearly explained (Refer Timeline page)
The timing of Crown land management changes
The timing of release of environmental reports. (obtained via Freedom of Information GIPA and NCAT)
Traffic and Acoustic reports that are not easily located on the Fred Caterson Council webpage (as of Mar 2026)
Council publicly exhibited the Draft Master Plan in 2020.
However, some residents have stated that:
The Draft Master Plan display period fell during the COVID lockdown period
Properties directly opposite the Pony Club site were not individually notified
Reminder posts used for other Master Plans were not located for this project
Refer community consultation findings.
Residents differ in their views on whether the consultation process was sufficient.
No.
Many residents involved support local sport.
Their concerns focus on:
Bushland protection
Transparency
Fair use of public funds
Community access
No.
This website compiles documents, meeting records and publicly available material. It does not allege criminal conduct.
Works commenced in February 2026.
The Generic Plan of Management adopted in October 2025 was subject to Ministerial consent. It is unclear from publicly available records whether that consent has been granted.
A local community group of concerned residents has a matter before the Land and Environment Court to challenge the Review of Environmental factors relating to development of the site.
Some residents believe construction could have waited until all approvals were finalised and the court case outcome is known.
At a Council meeting on 24 November 2020, a Councillor stated that:
Eastwood District Rugby Union Football Club would contribute approximately $3 million toward the project; and
The club would undertake field maintenance, resulting in estimated savings to Council of approximately $100,000 per year.
(Refer document: 2020.11.24. CouncilMeeting_Item4Transcript, 2020.11.24 Ordinary_Council_Meeting_Minutes and recording on Council's archive)
A draft licence document considered in June 2025 does not expressly reference a $3 million contribution and refers to maintenance being undertaken by Council.
(Refer 2025.06.23 Draft Licence Terms Meeting minutes)
Based on these documents, some residents have asked whether:
The financial contribution and maintenance arrangements remain as originally described in 2020;
Any changes to those arrangements have been formally considered by Council; and
Councillors and the public have been clearly updated on the current financial position.
Residents note that the project involves substantial public funding, including developer contributions allocated for community infrastructure (Contributions Plan 19 Pg 22), and therefore consider it important that the financial arrangements are clearly explained.
It is observed that the development has commenced as of Mar 2026 and significant numbers of the trees have been taken down already.
Some residents onsite also observed a tractor spraying herbicide to kill the grass.
The Master Plan identifies significant vegetation removal within the former Pony Club site.
Reports reference:
Removal of mature trees
Presence of endangered ecological communities
Habitat used by species such as Powerful Owls among other fauna. As well as Platypus impacted due to impact to Cattai creek.
Residents concerned about biodiversity question whether the cumulative impact has been fully assessed.
Vegetation loss: The Master Plan lists a total of 52,821m² (13 acres) including old-growth trees with wildlife-supporting hollows to be lost. Amended plans from March 2023 reduced total vegetation loss to approximately 36,112m², though this still represents substantial bushland removal. At least 300+ trees will be impacted just on the Pony Club site (Refer arboricultural assessment report), with even the dead ones providing hollows for nesting wildlife.
Ecological Communities at Risk: Fred Caterson Reserve contains five key ecological communities, including two that are endangered:
Sydney Turpentine Ironbark Forest (critically endangered)
Shale Transition Forest (endangered)
Sydney Sandstone Ridgetop Woodland Forest
Sandstone Transition Forest
Sydney Sandstone Gully Forest
The Sydney Turpentine Ironbark Forest is particularly significant, as less than 1% remains globally. This makes the representative patch on the former Pony Club site extremely valuable for biodiversity conservation. It has national listing as a Critically Endangered Ecological Community under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and NSW Listing under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2017.
Wildlife Impact: The reserve supports various threatened species including Powerful Owls and Glossy Black Cockatoos that rely on the remnant forest for food, nesting, and shelter. Recent wildlife sightings include lace monitors and echidnas. Platypus has also been found in Cattai Creek catchment, with Cattai creek flowing just west of the site, which would be impacted by the construction run-off after rains.
Assessment Limitations: The vegetation loss calculations are based on facility footprints only and do not include removal during construction, buffer zones, impacts on surrounding vegetation from ground level changes or water flow alterations, or future 'Asset Protection Zone' fire clearing requirements. As an example, the most recent A newly released REF (Addendum) has revealed another 23 trees to be removed in Fred Caterson Reserve: 21 for a sewer line, 2 for a footpath. These losses are not part of the rugby fields themselves, but part of the growing footprint around them. They were not shown in the Master Plan.
No known Environment Impact Report (EIR) has been completed as of Mar 2026.
Stage 1 proposes natural turf fields.
Documents suggest (2022.7.5-Shared Legal advice) that Council will develop facility up to a base level and Eastwood Rugby further build up on it (As part of Stage 2).
Documents indicate that further works may be undertaken by Eastwood Rugby at a later stage.
Synthetic turf is referenced in communications (2024.3.28), meeting minutes(2025.3.24), and other correspondence (2023.10.10) between Eastwood Rugby and Hills Shire Council.
Synthetic turf might look low-maintenance, but many residents have concerns about its environmental and health impacts.
Here are the main issues people raise:
• Heat - Artificial turf can become extremely hot in summer — much hotter than natural grass — making it uncomfortable and sometimes unsafe to use.
• Microplastics - Synthetic turf is made from plastic. Over time, it breaks down and sheds microplastics into surrounding soil and waterways.
• Loss of habitat - Replacing natural grass and soil with synthetic surface removes living ecosystems — insects, soil organisms, and the biodiversity that supports birds and wildlife.
• Stormwater runoff - Natural grass absorbs water. Synthetic turf does not function the same way and can increase runoff or require drainage systems.
• Replacement cycle - Artificial turf typically needs replacing every 8–10 years, meaning repeated disposal of large amounts of plastic material.
• Climate impact - Natural grass and trees help cool the environment and absorb carbon. Plastic surfaces do not provide those same benefits.
Many residents are asking whether long-term environmental costs have been fully considered before installing synthetic surfaces in public parks.
(Research - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38691211/, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026974912400366X, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13762-024-05689-3, https://www.nature.com/articles/jes200855 )
A traffic study(2024.02.26 Traffic Study) and acoustic report (Reference 2024.03.20) were prepared.
As of March 2026, these reports were not located on the Fred Caterson Reserve webpage. They have been obtained via formal information request.
The traffic report notes that larger events may require more parking than is proposed for Stage 1.
"Some 185 spaces are proposed on site. These spaces would be sufficient to cater for the car generation of the Club on a regular Saturday morning as well as training sessions during the week. When a Premier Game takes place on a Saturday afternoon up to 480 spaces may be required."
The acoustic report notes a large stand capacity which could impact traffic and noise.
"As per the projects drawings the general seating area can host up to 2,000 persons with an expected average of 1,500 persons during a major event."
Residents have asked how peak demand would be managed.
Some residents have raised questions about how the proposed access arrangements compare with the level of public funding involved and the growing demand for open space in the area.
The Draft licence terms discussions state (Refer 2025.06.23 Draft Licence Terms Meeting minutes)
"The three fields (including the changerooms and bathroom facilities on those fields to be constructed by THSC) will be made available to the public between the hours of [to be agreed between the parties] on [to be agreed between the parties] and may be booked for exclusive use via an online booking system provided and maintained by Eastwood Rugby. A booking and/or usage fee may charged by Eastwood Rugby. Certain public areas (to be defined) of the Eastwood Rugby clubhouse will be made available to the public between the hours of [to be determined by Eastwood Rugby] on [to be determined by Eastwood Rugby]. The three fields will be made available by Eastwood Rugby to the public for approximately 650 hours per year.
The hours of use by Eastwood Rugby will vary monthly depending on the season and weather and ground conditions.
With the growing population living in high rise residential (and the Showground precinct expected to be home to 20,000 residents) with 42 fields needed for community, how would the Council provide residents also access to
More Community access (As opposed to the terms mentioned above)
Passive recreation such as Bushland
Comparing with the Pony Club fields in Fred Caterson that were open and accessible to community 24/7.
The Stage 2 build (Reference - 2022.7.5) appears to suggest a clubhouse among other detail.
"Stage 2: Eastwood Rugby Works (Stage 2 Development Works) Any further works required on the Land to meet the requirements of Eastwood Rugby, including the construction of:
a. a permanent clubhouse;
b. a high performance centre;
c. a grandstand adjoining the grass Premier Field; and
d. medical and retail facilities. "
There appear to also be mention of
"commercial activities such as:
merchandise sales;
café, food and beverage sales;
ticket sales for all Eastwood rugby matches; and
sublease of certain areas of the clubhouse to community medical and physiotherapy practices. "
In simple terms, some residents are raising these questions:
Were all approvals fully in place before construction began?
Has the financial arrangement changed since it was first discussed?
Does the access arrangement reflect the level of public funding?
This website provides documents and timelines so residents can review the information directly.