The proposal was narrowly voted through by the panel. Three members voted in favour while Ryde councillors Tina Kordrostami and Cameron Last were against. The three panel members who approved the plans said in their decision that the proposal should proceed this time, despite being knocked back in 2022, partly because of the Minns government’s target to build 378,000 homes by July 2029 under the National Housing Accord. The panel also said they had received advice from Planning Minister Paul Scully indicating the land was not needed to meet forecast open space needs, as well as advice from Eastwood Rugby Club that changing demographics in Ryde had led to a “substantially reduced” participation in rugby at the field. The panel also found the project would provide much needed “missing middle” low-density housing.