M6 Motorway extension into Sutherland Shire to result in 'significant losses' of parks and sporting fields

If construction takes place above ground, the project will cut a swathe through seven parks and bushland reserves and eight hectares of sporting areas.

The assessment was made by Sutherland Shire Council staff, who could not give precise impacts because they were unable to obtain strategic design options from Transport for NSW.

"It can be assumed that regardless of construction methodology and the modes of transport provided, that there will be significant losses [of open space] in some locations," the report said.

The report included maps showing the route of the 9.6km road corridor through the shire. (See photo gallery).

A desktop review of land uses in the road corridor found more than three quarters, or about 65 hectares, was available at present for a range of passive or active recreation uses.

This included 53 hectares designated for a specific recreation or conservation purpose, such as playing fields, reserves or Royal National Park, which was "high quality bushland crossed by hiking and biking trails".

The report said parks and bushland reserves within the corridor included:

The report said affected sporting areas included:

Also within the corridor were privately owned Sylvania Par 3 Golf Course and Matchpoint Tennis, Kirrawee.

The report said other services located within the corridor included Sydney Montessori School, Sydney Tourist Park at Miranda and the Sydney Transport Museum tram line at Loftus.

Read more: F6 extension work to start with four-kilometre tunnel

Until recently, part of the corridor land at Gymea Bay Road, Gymea, had been used for overflow parking, but was fenced off due to asbestos contamination concerns.

The balance of the M6 corridor was turfed and used informally by the community, "and is also of great utility and value."

The state government announced the proposed stages of the M6 extension in 2017 and stated a majority of the project could be constructed in a tunnel.

So far, the government has committed to only stage one from Arncliffe to Kogarah, putting back the start of work by a year to early 2022.

The motorway, which will be funded by a toll, is due to open by the end of 2025.

Stage two will be President Avenue at Kogarah to Taren Point and stage three, Taren Point to the Princes Highway at Loftus.

A proposed fourth stage, from Princes Highway at Loftus to the M1 Princes Motorway at Waterfall, was dropped in 2019.

The council decided in October last year to advocate for stages two and three, with provision for public transport, to be expedited with "optimum retention of open space".

Council staff were asked for a report on "the practical maximum retention of open space".

The report said the road corridor through the shire, which was established in 1951, was 9.6 kilometres long, varying in width from approximately 65 metres to 100 metres, and encompassing more than 80 hectares of public and private land.

The major public landowners were the state government (NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and RTA Business Services) and Sutherland Shire Council.

Parts of the corridor land were maintained by council under care, control and management arrangements that were historical in nature.

The report said a number of factors would influence the impact on open space by transport initiatives within the corridor.

These included whether the project included public transport and active transport (walking and cycling).

Other factors included the method of construction, location of interchanges and exhaust stacks and / or other supporting infrastructure, and impacts during construction.

The report said, until more detail was provided by the government and considered by the council, there should not be any loss of current public use within the corridor.

The last community consultation by the council that specifically targeted the community's view on usage of the corridor was in 2004.