Ryde community turns out in force to save TG Millner
Published on 21 July 2025
Hundreds of people flocked to Marsfield Park on Saturday 19 July to protest the potential rezoning of the iconic TG Millner Fields for a housing development, calling on the state and federal governments to support active open space in the Ryde LGA.
On a beautiful, sunny winter’s morning, the community showed up in force, waving placards and homemade signs and loudly chanting their disapproval at the recent decision by the Sydney North Planning Panel (SNPP) to proceed the proposed rezoning to a Gateway determination.
City of Ryde Mayor Trenton Brown, community representative Toby Lord, and Ryde state MP Jordan Lane made passionate speeches advocating the need for more active open space in Ryde, which faces exponential population growth over the next 15 years.
Mayor Brown said it was gratifying to see so many people attend the rally and supporting Council’s campaign.
“This just goes to show how important it is to our community to preserve and add to the active open space in Ryde,” he said. “We have a deficit of 15 sports fields now and that is predicted to rise to 21 by 2040 as we add as many as 100,000 new residents.
“This City is doing the heavy lifting in regard to the State Government’s commitment to ease the housing crisis, with as many as 37,000 new homes to be built in the Macquarie Park Innovation District alone over the coming decades.
“Both tiers of government, as the architects of this population and density growth through the National Housing Accord, need to step in and help fund the sports fields that our future generations of kids need. It can’t just be about more housing – we need to strike the right balance between residential uplift, employment opportunities and essential accompanying infrastructure like open space.
“If the state and federal governments can provide $30 million to the upgrade of Leichhardt Oval and the state a further $4.8 million unlocking more open space at nearby Callan Park then they can afford to help the people of Ryde. Sydney is not just about the inner west.”
On 10 June 2025, the independent SNPP determined that a rezoning proposal for TG Millner by the landowner North Ryde RSL and developer Winston Langley should progress through the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure’s (DPHI) Gateway process.
The proposal relates to rezoning the land from RE2 – Private Recreation to a combination of R2 – Low Density Residential and RE1 – Public Recreation. This means the proposal will now be assessed by the State Government through SNPP as the Planning Proposal Authority.
A previous attempt by the proponents to rezone the land was rejected by the SNPP in 2022 because the panel found housing proposal failed to adequately demonstrate strategic merit. TG Millner was also adjudged at that time to have the potential to contribute to the amount of open space needed to service the future population of the Ryde LGA.
Approval in 2025 will now pave the way for the 132-dwelling Marsfield Common development to proceed.
View the photos from the community rally