Controversial redevelopment of playing fields to drive kids out of sport, locals warn

A controversial plan to redevelop playing fields and facilities at a park in Sydney’s west will go ahead, despite repeated warnings it will drive children away from sport and pose serious safety risks.

The plan – approved during an extraordinary meeting of Liverpool Council in September – will result in three fields of green space at Ireland Park, home ground of a grassroots football club, razed to make way for a car park.

The club’s committee says it will be forced to slash its junior teams and increase fees to survive.

Vira Valmas, secretary of the Liverpool Rangers’ committee, has two boys, nine-year-old Andrew and 11-year-old Theodore, who both play at the club. Her husband, Peter, is also on the committee.

She said parents have also sounded the alarm about the project’s plan to situate a playground behind the amenities building, out of view from the fields where kids play and train. They are worried it could increase the chances of children being harmed by antisocial behaviour.

“I looked at the project through the lens of a mum. I saw the location of where they were going to put the clubhouse and the little playground … [with the] playground behind the amenities building, closed off from view of the public, and I didn’t find that very safe,” she told the Herald. “That was the one big red flag for me.”

The Rangers are one of the most affordable clubs in the Liverpool LGA, but the redevelopment will soon change that.

With less playing space available, fewer teams and no district hub days to bring in canteen income, the club will have no choice but to increase fees for registration and uniforms. Valmas said it could force parents at the club to withdraw their children from sport altogether.

“Those players that we lose may not even get back into soccer because parents just can’t afford it,” she said.

Member for Liverpool Charishma Kaliyanda told NSW Parliament the decision had “vast ramifications for grassroots sport in Liverpool”.

The Labor MP said the council’s decision reduced access to affordable sport where the need was most acute.

“People look to affordable options, like what the local Rangers have offered to the community. If that becomes further out of reach, it’s a real shame for families that are just trying to do the best by their kids.”

Council’s own report acknowledges that the plan’s reduction of the club’s playing capacity would negatively impact its income streams and participation.

Rangers president Matt McMah approached council in 2024 to raise concerns and suggest a revised master plan.

The club’s committee met with council three times to finalise the new plan. It included a cricket pitch, a walking and cycling track, an outdoor gym and an off-leash dog park.

“We sacrificed our wants for the needs of the community … I don’t know what more council could want from the plan,” McMah said.

“I could lose nearly half of my junior players because there just won’t be the space for them to train and play … All this is going to do is price kids out of playing grassroots sports.”

Locals who live around Ireland Park also told the Herald they were dissatisfied with the plan.

Imman Chakik lives just a few houses away from Ireland Park. The mother of three said older residents who lived on her street had been excited about the prospect of a walking track included in the revised master plan.

“It’s used by a lot of older people living here … who walk around the reserve. People use it as a walking track, but it definitely needs an upgrade,” she said.

“I don’t know what council had in mind, or what they thought their plan was going to bring to the community ... What’s the point in getting consultation from the community and then going against everything they’ve suggested?”

Newly elected councillor Zeli Munjiza has submitted a rescission motion, to bring the item back on to council’s agenda before its next meeting. It requires the backing of two other councillors.

“I am hoping that there will be support, and that this will be reconsidered,” she told this masthead.

“This decision has the potential to impact on a broad cross-section of the community, and the families at the Rangers are the community here. They make up the community.”

Liverpool Council’s next ordinary meeting is scheduled for October 15.

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