A year after Georges River Council closed a large section of Kempt Field, Allawah due to subsidence, asbestos and ground gas emissions arising from its time as a garbage tip, a large section of the site remains closed to due safety concerns to the community.
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Fencing along the affected perimeter and signage is in place to protect anyone visiting that part of the park.
Closure
On the first anniversary of the closure of the site, Cr Ben Wang called for an update the current status of the NSW Government-owned Kempt Field site, specifically in relation to the removal of the eco-unfriendly bitumen area between the park and the Landmark tower Beyond in Durham Street, Hurstville on the northern end of the site.
Cr Wang also asked council about the beautification of the park with trees and vegetation conducive to local ecology and installation of a much narrower more eco-friendly pedestrian pathway linking the tower with the park.
He was told that council officers continue to meet with and provide support to the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE), who are the landowners of the Kempt Field site.
In July 2023, DPE engaged a consultant to develop a business case to support the budget and funding submission to NSW Treasury for the remediation of Kempt Field.
DPE are also currently in the process of developing a Remediation Action Plan to address ground gas emissions, contaminated land and subsidence issues that have been identified across the site.
The Remediation Action Plan will determine the long-term management of the site its usability by the community.
Georges River Council has also been developing an Asbestos Management Plan for the Kempt Field site, which was due to be finalised in December 2023.
The council will continue to work closely with DPE and provide advice into any future embellishments including tree planting and vegetation and more sustainable path network infrastructure as part of the process of developing the Remediation Action Plan.
Green space demise
A visit to Kempt Field by councillors Wang and Peter Mahoney helped shine a spotlight on the demise of this important piece of green space.
Local active Bushcare volunteer and Oatley Flora and Fauna Conservation Society (OFF) member Susan Ghosn, who has been lobbying Council to plant more natives to beautify Hurstville, invited the councillors and OFF committee members Matt Allison and Adrian Polhill to an on-site meeting.
"Trees which had been recently planted were in dire straits, and in one area, beside the high-rise, a whole section of continuous tree canopy had been erased and replaced with a large pad of bitumen," Cr Wang said
Heat sink
"This once shady area is now a heat sink and an ugly addition to the park," he said.
Cr Wang said hopefully the council and OFF members can nurture the neglected space back to a beautiful forest which gave Forest Road its name.
"Hopefully, Turpentine and Ironbark trees and other species associated with the rare and ecologically endangered vegetation community of which only 0.5 per cent remains in the Sydney Basin, along with other lush native vegetation will once again grace this part of Hurstville," he said.
