Hornsby Park – from quarry to parklands

Major Projects

HORNSBY PARK FROM QUARRY TO PARKLANDS

Council is redeveloping the abandoned Hornsby Quarry and adjacent Old Mans Valley on the western side of Hornsby, very close to the town centre, and transforming the site into open space for recreation and entertainment for all to enjoy. The project will be partly funded by the NSW Stronger Communities grant and development contributions.

This new major parkland is being created on the site of the former Hornsby Quarry which was handed back to Council from NorthConnex in late 2019. The rehabilitation of the old quarry is the largest single project ever undertaken by Hornsby Shire Council. It has been, of course, good planning and consultation with the community and government that has created such an exceptional opportunity, one which has been pursued by Hornsby Shire Council over many years. The Hornsby Parklands project is a true multiagency collaboration, that takes advantage of the construction of the NorthConnex Tunnel by turning the massive amounts of fill dirt from the tunnel to the community’s advantage. Council now has the basis for the transformation of the old quarry site into a major recreation asset for Hornsby Shire. This large-scale project benefits from the support of many partner organisations and is being part-funded by the NSW Government through the NSW Stronger Communities grant scheme and by development contributions. Further works have commenced that will create the final landform for the site and address site wide stability issues. Rehabilitation and regeneration of the vegetation communities on the site have also commenced and funding has been set aside to ensure this can continue into the future. Master planning for the final park embellishments has been completed following community engagement, with the masterplan adopted at the June 2021 Council meeting. Detailed design of the park embellishments, in accordance with the adopted masterplan, is well progressed. The severe weather events experienced thus far in 2022 and the ongoing supply chain challenges from COVID / the war in Ukraine have impacted the targeted completion date for the final earthworks and site rehabilitation by at least one year. As such, the date at which embellishments can be completed to provide site access is yet to be confirmed.