Gosford Council has agreed with the state government to allow up to 440 cars to be parked on the grass surface of Heazlett Park for people coming to Avoca Beach to witness the sinking of the ex HMAS Adelaide. Such parking has the potential to destroy the surface of the oval preventing sport being played for an indefinite period.

At present Avoca Beach Rugby Club are forbidden from training on the surface by Gosford Council due to their concerns damage will be done to the surface. Nevertheless the Council and State government have now agreed to let hundreds of cars park on the oval’s surface on March 27, 2010. As the primary user and tenant of the Oval there has been no communication with us about this proposed parking use.

In recent years the club has contributed thousands of dollars to assist Gosford City Council in repairing and maintaining the surface and potentially it will now be torn up by hundreds of cars, only weeks before our season commences.

The State Government has provided no budget to Council for remediation work on the ground, which means we will have to rely on council finding a budget to do any repair work.  There are no plans to close the car park should the weather be inclement, if the boat is going down – the cars will be there.  None of the revenue that will be generated through food stalls or car parking fees on the day will be directed to either the restitution of the surface or compensation to the tenant who have assisted maintain the oval in it’s current condition.