Our Boatshed Project
Community Rowing Club has lodged its development application for the construction of a public access pontoon and boatshed on the foreshore of Leichhardt Park, following 15 years of searching for a suitable site, planning and development. We have been working for move than a decade to create a fully accessible, purpose-built boatshed for persons of all abilities to access a designated rowing precinct, to provide better access to all members of the community to our sport.
Our Boatshed Project
The Leichhardt Park Project
We are in the process of creating a new, community-focused boatshed on the shores of Iron Cove, a dedicated rowing precinct on Sydney Harbour, to provide new opportunities for people from all backgrounds to join the great sport of rowing.
Community Rowing Club currently operates from a boat shed in the Lane Cove River, which is inaccessible and unable to be converted to enable access to the sport for those with disabilities who are unable to traverse a rocky and uneven path (and stairs) to get to our current boatshed.
Previously, our program operated from the Balmain Rowing Club (as the Balmain Para-Rowing Program), but despite positive renovations to that club, the location and access to the boat deck suffers from similar accessibility issues. Not only will the proposed boatshed address these matters, it will also increase the capacity of the sport to receive new members beyond those who already have access to the sport, opening up both the sport and the harbour to more members of the community.
The current development application is the result of years of hard work and consultation with Transport for NSW, Inner West Council, and the rowing community. We are grateful for all of the input, feedback and support we have received over the previous decade and a half!
Prior to lodging the development application, we have revised the design of the boatshed based on the feedback we received from rowers, especially those who use Iron Cove as their training ground. We have reduced the scope of the original proposal, moved the shed away from the rowing course, and reconfigured the pontoon to ensure it does not encroach on the training areas of Iron Cove.
Community Focused Design
The design of the boatshed has been prepared by Hill Thalis Architects. We are very proud of their work and we think it will provide a fantastic facility both for our club but also importantly the broader community.
A facility for everyone
Like you all, our goal is to increase access to our wonderful sport for members of the community.Â
We have also ensured that the pontoon will provide public access to the community, visiting clubs and other water users. We hope to work with Inner West Council, Rowing NSW and the bay clubs to ensure the best use by the most members of the community, and not just our club.
A Designated Rowing Precinct
We are proud of our Balmain, Iron Cove and Bay Club heritage, and look forward to returning to Iron Cove and helping community rowing continue for centuries to come!
Support for the Project
We are also very grateful for the letters of support we have received from both Rowing Clubs as well as from Rowing NSW, the Local Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council, the Australian Olympic Committee, Paralympics Australia, and others. These letters demonstrate the strong support for our project and its benefits for the rowing community and the public.
Like you all, our goal is to increase access to our wonderful sport for members of the community.
We are committed to providing opportunities for rowers of all backgrounds, and look forward to joining the fantastic community of clubs on the harbour who do so.
We are aware that this project may raise some questions, and we want to assure you that we are committed to being both good neighbours and part of the Iron Cove Community, and working in with all the rowers in Iron Cove.
We’ve attached some additional information regarding our proposal below if you’d like to read further about our goals, motivation, and journey so far. We invite you to get in touch with us if you have any queries or feedback. We would love to hear from you and discuss how we can make this project a success for everyone.
We are proud of our Balmain, Iron Cove and Bay Club heritage, and look forward to returning to Iron Cove and helping community rowing continue for centuries to come!
Download the plans here or view them below:
