Work on the construction of the new playground in Somerville Park will continue this weekend from Saturday 27 to Sunday 28 September 2025. Parts of the carpark may be closed during this time. Works are expected to take place from 7am to 1pm.
Initial excavations for the new play area encountered a small number of fragments of fibro buried in the soil where a carpark was once located. Fibro was a material widely used in building products up until the 1990s.
Fibro and more than 3,000 other building products including fibre board - used as walls and eaves in buildings - pipes, fencing materials, and roof sheeting, usually contained asbestos. This mineral can pose a risk to human health if materials containing it become damaged and release fibres that can be inhaled.
Somerville Park unexpected finds
While the fibro material found in the excavated soils in Somerville Park is in good condition, Council stopped all excavation works and has secured the area. A precautionary approach will now be taken when further excavation in this location begins to ensure that the community remains safe.
- Soil removal work is scheduled for the weekend of 27/28 September 2025, with the soil taken to an appropriately licensed facility
- Works will be completed by specialist licensed contractors, under the supervision of an environmental consultant with expertise in asbestos management
- All appropriate safety controls will be in place as required by SafeWork NSW, including air-quality monitoring and the implementation of exclusion areas establishing a safe distance from the excavation site
- Workers will wear appropriate personal protective equipment
- The site for the new playground will be inspected and certified as safe on completion of the excavation.
These works are expected to delay the delivery of the playground by around two weeks. Completion is anticipated for late-2025 (subject to weather and site conditions).
More information:
E: jloney@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au
T: 1300 617 058 and ask for Council’s Major Projects team.
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