Design plans have been approved for Ku-ring-gai’s newest community park at Wahroonga – to be known as Balcombe Park.
Mayor Ian Cross said the 1,000 square metre park, in front of the State heritage listed Briars residence, will serve an area that has had an influx of new apartments in recent years.
“Park users will be able to enjoy the view of this grand old residence, one of several significant heritage properties in the local area,” he said. “The park will feature a children’s swing and spring toy, seats set around a central lawn area, a picnic table with chessboard and a bubbler. Now that Council has approved design plans for the park, our staff are preparing to call for tenders for construction work, which is expected to begin early next year.”
Mayor Cross said Council acquired the park site using Section 94 development contribution funds.
“It will provide a sanctuary for apartment dwellers of the immediate area, which has a shortage of public open space,” he said. “One of Council’s top priorities is providing new open space to cater for up to 20,000 new residents Ku-ring-gai must accept in coming years as part of the State Government’s Metropolitan Strategy. The creation of Balcombe Park is part of that commitment.”
Mayor Cross said that Balcombe Park is named after the Briars original owner, William Alexander Balcombe, Deputy Registrar of the Equity Court in Sydney who lived there from 1895. The Briars has a fascinating link to French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte through Mr Balcombe’s grandfather, also called William, who lived in a house called the Briars on the island of St Helena from 1811 until 1818.
Napoleon was detained on St Helena by the British from 1815 until his death in 1821. He lived at the Briars with the Balcombe family for several months when he first arrived on the island. William Balcombe senior later obtained a posting as the first Colonial Treasurer in New South Wales in 1823. The Wahroonga house was modelled on the design of the Briars in St Helena.
