For decades Hornsby Shire Council has been attempting to address the documented need for additional active open space and recreational facilities for the current and future population of the Shire. Successive studies dating back to the early 2000s have demonstrated an expressed need to increase the level of sportsground provision in Hornsby Shire and have detailed the various constraints to increasing that provision.

Council’s Sportsground Strategy (October 2018) (PDF 15.8MB) estimated a potential gap between future demand (by 2026) and current supply at 40% and proposed that Council should specifically develop new sports facilities at Westleigh Park to help address this demand.  With no change to the current supply, by 2026 there would be a shortfall of sportsground playing surface in the Hornsby Shire Council area of approximately 19.9 Ha. A further review in 2023 by the North Shore Regional Organisation of Councils (NSROC) indicated that by 2036 there will be a shortfall of 223 Ha in the northern region and 61 Ha for Hornsby Shire. This is the most meaningful opportunity to address part of that shortfall in the entire northern Sydney region.

The proposed development of Westleigh Park is a direct response to the shortfall and Council had the foresight to purchase the land in 2016 for the provision of additional sportsgrounds.