Berrys Bay
Concept design revealed for the reimagining of Woodley’s Shed as a community pavilion and new foreshore playground at Berrys Bay
In July 2025, the Minister for Roads unveiled new concept designs to transform the derelict former industrial site at Berrys Bay into a public parkland with a new community pavilion.
Pictured: Artist's impressions of proposed Berrys Bay foreshore parkland and reimagined Woodley's Shed community pavilion
The reimagined Woodley’s Shed will become a community pavilion which reflects the shape, materials and former uses of the site as a shipyard and boatbuilding hub. It will include a covered public plaza and community building with provisions for a future kitchen facility and services/office. The design also celebrates and honours the site’s deep Cammeraygal connections as a significant cultural location which was a place for fishing, gathering and crossing the harbour with bark nawis (canoes).
While the draft Western Harbour Tunnel (WHT) Place, Design and Landscape Plan (PDLP) Part 2 – Berrys Bay will be released for public comment, on 28 July 2025, detailed design work is still underway for the new Woodley’s Shed community pavilion.
The WHT PDLP (Part 2) – Berrys Bay builds on the 2022 Berrys Bay master plan and WHT PDLP (Part 1) and includes outdoor play and picnic areas, native landscaping and opportunities for public artwork to be delivered as part of the new foreshore parkland. New accessible pathways will reconnect the community with the foreshore and its iconic views of Sydney Harbour.
We have worked with local students to co-design elements for the new play facilities at Berrys Bay. Students at North Sydney Public School, 1st North Sydney Cubs and Planet X Youth Centre shared ideas on their dream play space using items from nature, and these have shaped the parkland detailed design.
Pictured: Co-design for future play facilities at Berrys Bay foreshore parkland with local children underway
The seawall will be stabilised to prevent shoreline erosion, providing a safe foundation for new foreshore walkways. This will involve removing select derelict marine structures near the seawall, which will also improve access for recreational activities like kayaking, once the parkland opens.
Work at the site is starting with the removal of derelict buildings including the former refinery administration building, marine workshop, annexes and extensions, as well as site establishment activities.
The new parkland is planned to be open for public use ahead of Western Harbour Tunnel’s opening in 2028.
New community pavilion planned for Berrys Bay
In November 2024, following endorsement from North Sydney Council, the former Woodley’s Shed main building will be deconstructed with select materials salvaged and integrated into a new community pavilion built at the site, as part of the Berrys Bay foreshore parkland.
This creates an exciting opportunity to:
deliver a new community pavilion at Berrys Bay which reflects the form, size and location of the historic Woodley’s Shed main building
complete the Waverton peninsula foreshore pathway, providing public access to more areas
safely remediate the ground conditions after decades of industrial activity
enable repairs to the sea walls and improve the foreshore.
Delivering the parkland sooner
In December 2022, Transport awarded the second and final stage of the Western Harbour Tunnel project to ACCIONA, changing the construction methodology to use tunnel boring machines to dig under Sydney Harbour. The new construction methodology was approved in January 2024.
This change in tunnelling methodology means that the temporary construction site at Berrys Bay is no longer required for the project, allowing construction to start sooner on a new foreshore park at Berrys Bay, for the local community.
Next steps
Transport and ACCIONA are looking forward to sharing more details about our plans for Berrys Bay in 2025 including the draft Place, Design and Landscape Plan on Monday 28 July 2025.
We will continue to provide progress on the project via email, community notifications, via the website and our interactive construction map portal. To stay informed, subscribe to our ‘Future use of Berrys Bay’ email database here.
Project history
Transport awarded the second and final stage of the Western Harbour Tunnel project to ACCIONA in December 2022, changing the construction methodology to use tunnel boring machines to dig under Sydney Harbour. The new construction methodology was approved in January 2024.
This change in methodology means that the temporary construction site at Berrys Bay is no longer required for the project, allowing construction to start sooner on a new foreshore park at Berrys Bay for the local community.
In consultation with North Sydney Council (Council) and community representatives, Transport prepared a landscape master plan to transform the former industrial land at Berrys Bay into a foreshore park. The draft master plan was on public exhibition from 30 September to 23 October 2022. The final master plan was released on 8 February 2023.
The new parkland is planned to be open for public use ahead of Western Harbour Tunnel’s opening.
Transport for NSW worked closely with North Sydney Council, key stakeholder groups and community representatives to prepare a landscape master plan to transform the former industrial land at Berrys Bay into a foreshore park. This draft Berrys Bay master plan was on public exhibition for consultation from 30 September to 23 October 2022.
We asked the community for their views on the draft l master plan for Berrys Bay through a survey, to understand the key values and sentiment on the vision to transform the bay.
Feedback showed that people value open space for passive and informal recreation. It also highlighted support for the vision to turn Berrys Bay into an accessible public space, offering a variety of community benefits and recreational opportunities.
The survey results revealed the community’s top priorities, in order of preference: picnic areas with seating, BBQs and shade
tidal steps to provide connection to water
continuous and accessible foreshore path
open space for informal recreation.
Transport prepared a Submissions Report (PDF) to document how we engaged, who we heard from and what we heard.
In March 2021, community members were invited to apply to be part of the Berrys Bay Community and Stakeholder Working Group (CSWG) alongside representatives from the NSW Government and North Sydney Council.
The purpose of the CSWG was to help determine the optimal vision and design of Berrys Bay and to consider perspectives and preferences across the community and the NSW Government to provide the best outcome for both the local and wider community.
This collaborative forum enabled a fair, sustainable, productive and sensitive outcome. It provided advice and assisted the Berrys Bay project team in understanding the current and future needs of the local community.
The Berrys Bay master plan development was informed by the outcomes of the CSWG meetings.
The final master plan was released on 8 February 2023, click here to view.
Contact us
If you would like to get in touch with the project team, please contact the Western Harbour Tunnel project, you can contact the team by calling 1800 931 189 (ask for ACCIONA Berrys Bay team) or emailing us at whtbl@transport.nsw.gov.au