The Sydney Grammar sports complex is set to open to downtown residents

Downtown residents will get after-hours access to Sydney Grammar’s proposed $54 million sports center, a move that could put pressure on other private schools tackling big capital projects.

Independent MP for Sydney Alex Greenwich said a decision by planning authorities to allow nearby residents access to Grammar’s three-story Rushcutters Bay Weigall Sports Complex should “set a new standard” for future private school developments.

“Private schools receive a large portion of government funding, and they have a responsibility to provide world-class facilities to their neighbors,” Greenwich said. “That can be done in a sensible and structured way.”

Several of Sydney’s wealthy private schools have recently been pressured by North Sydney Council to open the site to public school pupils in a bid to improve access to sports facilities, swimming pools and open green spaces in densely populated suburbs.

The Grammar, one of the oldest all-boys schools in the state, has yet to begin construction on the complex, which will center on two levels with swimming pools, multipurpose courts, spectator seating and a parking lot.

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The long-running proposal, which was approved by the independent planning commission in late 2021, has drawn ongoing criticism from local residents in the area and neighborhood – including about 100 social housing tenants. Building height, shading and loss of sight and outlook are among their concerns.

As part of the permit, the school was ordered to allow some residents of Darlinghurst and Paddington on three adjacent streets access to the complex for at least eight hours a week, evenings and weekends.

Sydney Grammar principal Richard Malpass said while the state’s significant development application grants access to “certain local residents”, it is intended that the pool, courts and other facilities “also be available to the children of our local neighborhood schools”.