The City of Sydney in October releasedtwo options for shrinking the course to nine holes – a proposal that ignited public debate and incensed some councillors,the Moore Park golf club and the city's golfing enthusiasts.
Mr Stokes has requested the Greater Sydney Parklands Trust,which oversees Centennial Park and Moore Park,to investigate how the government can create more public access to the course while retaining the 18 holes.
He said listening to those in favour of the proposal,and those against it,"got me thinking about whether there’s a way to strike a better balance between the recreation needs of both local residents and golfers".
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"Perhaps the debate shouldn’t be about whether the course should offer nine holes or 18 holes,but instead how we can strategically reconfigure a small number of holes to enhance community access to the approximately 120 hectares of regional green space just a stone’s throw away at Moore Park and Centennial Park,"he said.
Mr Stokes said this idea of a"small modification"to the course would give people much better access to walk,cycle,picnic and spend time in the"beautiful"green space that makes up Moore Park and Centennial Park.
Mr Stokes said the club was a"significant component of the sustainable funding and management of Centennial,Queens and Moore parks",and contributed 39 per cent of the Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust’s income.