Saying NO to a NEW building in the National Park at Middle Head.
Mosman Parks & Bushland Association (MPBA) opposes the construction of a new building on Sydney Harbour National Park land at Middle Head.
Postscript: Closing date for submissions extended to Friday 15 March 2024
The proposal
There is a proposal by the NSW Education Department to establish an Environmental Education Centre (EEC) in a highly significant heritage precinct of NSW National Park land at Middle Head – within the perimeter of the 19th century Middle Head Fort.
The proposal plans to use the modest little Soldiers’ Institute for classrooms and build a Large NEW COVERED OUTDOOR LEARNING CENTRE (COLA), including an amenity block and storage facilities, right beside it.
ABOVE: The proposed COLA is LARGE. Its footprint exceeds that of the Soldiers Institute.
ABOVE: The COLA footprint compared to the existing Soldier’s Institute building, it’s much larger. This diagram does not include the additional area required for the driveway, parking spaces and new paths!
MPBA wholeheartedly supports the idea of an Environmental Education Centre. However, this heritage precinct on Middle Head National Park land is not the place for it.
The Ten Terminal complex is just along the road in the Harbour Trust section of Middle Head. The long vacant Ten Terminal buildings would be an appropriate location for an Environmental Education Centre. The Harbour Trust has completed some remedial works and now planning for Ten Terminal’s adaptive reuse is underway.
Our reasons for opposing the new building
A precedent: Currently the Sydney Harbour National Park Plan of Management does not allow the construction of NEW buildings at Middle Head. The National Parks and Wildlife Service must change the Plan of Management to construct any new building at Middle Head.
This change will create a dangerous precedent. How many other new buildings could then be built on Middle Head?
Heritage significance: The area proposed for the Environmental Education Centre (EEC) is located in the Middle Head historic fort, a hugely significant heritage area.
This particular precinct of Middle Head/ Gubbuh Gubbuh has a collection of buildings of similar scale, age, and vernacular style whose significance demonstrates the history of military development around the turn of the last century. Paul Davies, author of the Conservation Management Plan - Sydney Harbour National Park, Middle Head Historic Buildings, says, “The interrelationships between the buildings should not be obstructed by new structures. New structures would intrude on these relationships and break down the site’s interpretive value.”
Destruction of Bushland: The new building would mean clearing bushland to create an Asset Protection Zone for protection from bushfires. The Education Department’s Information Pack claims that threatened flora and fauna will not be impacted. People attending the information session in person heard that the bushland was “degraded”.
A foundation principle of Mosman Parks & Bushland is that no bushland, however degraded, should ever be destroyed.
ABOVE: An estimation of how much bushland would be removed.
Our reasons for supporting the alternative location of Ten Terminal for the Environmental Education Centre
No impact on heritage and bushland. Avoiding the precedent of new buildings on Middle Head.
The buildings at Ten Terminal, empty so far, will likely suit classroom, storage and toilet facility needs.
The intended Information Centre at Ten Terminal could supplement students’ environmental education experience.
Transporting students to Ten Terminal would provide a safer and more convenient arrival and departure point for students.
The NSW Department of Education has met with the Harbour Trust to discuss the alternative of housing the Environmental Education Centre at Ten Terminal. However, the option will not be considered until the current proposal on National Parks land at Middle Head has been “completed”. We suspect this means that 10 Terminal will only be considered a last resort.
