Peggy Womersley Reserve

Peggy Womersley Reserve (Kingsdene Oval), Carlingford - Playground Upgrade and Associated Landscaping

In early April, the City of Parramatta began work on the construction of the new playground and associated landscaping around the new sporting pavilion at Peggy Womersley Reserve.

Early in the program, contractors discovered fragments of cement board which may contain asbestos. These ‘fibro’ fragments were buried within the soil, and were not observed during geotechnical investigations that occurred before works began.

Due to the construction program, the section of the reserve was already closed to the public, and this served as a protective exclusion zone. However, as a precautionary measure, Council stopped work and engaged an environmental consultant to review the asbestos risk and determine how works could safely continue.

Works to continue with appropriate safety controls

Testing carried out on the found materials confirmed that they are classified as “non-friable”.

Work areas will remain fenced to the public. To ensure any asbestos containing materials found within the soils are properly handled, work will proceed under the direction of a qualified environmental consultant, and with the assistance of licensed asbestos professionals.

Safety controls throughout the works include:

• The use of air-quality monitoring
• The application of dust suppression techniques
• The use of all appropriate personal protective equipment, as required by NSW SafeWork.

Affected soils will be removed off site to an appropriate facility by licensed removalists.

Any affected soils remaining onsite will be appropriately capped and contained to prevent future exposure.

Timeframes

As a result of these finds and the work necessary to address them, playground works are now expected to be complete in July 2024, subject to weather and site conditions.

Contact us

For further information about the project, please contact the Peggy Womersley project team via email openspace@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au or call 1300 617 058.

Community engagement

In October 2023, you shared some thoughts on how to make the playground at Peggy Womersley Reserve better. We used what you said to develop draft design for a new playground. In April 2023, we made that draft design public and asked you to jump in again and share your thoughts.To view the designs, see the draft concept design section on this page.

About Peggy Womersley Reserve Playground

The playground at Peggy Womersley Reserve, located at 98 Felton Road, Carlingford is a local playground geared towards children aged 0 - 12 years old. The play equipment is skill and sensory-based, and currently includes:

• Double swing
• Spinner
• Climbing tower with car themed cubby
• Vertical spider web climbing net
• Slide
• Synthetic grass soft-fall

New playground location

A new playground location has also been proposed. The new location has been selected to allow for better connectivity and surveillance between the sportsground and the playground.

The sloping site also creates the opportunity to design a playground that meets the community’s desire for more adventurous play with sliding and climbing elements.