Big Splash Waterpark in November 2025. Photo: James Coleman.
Plans for any redevelopment of the Big Splash Waterpark in Macquarie are up in the air after the mortgagee took possession of the property.
A Notice of Possession was posted on the Big Splash fence this morning, saying that the lenders – a number of superannuation funds and family trusts – had taken possession of 2 Catchpole Street, Macquarie, from the owner, Translink Property Management Pty Ltd.
Sydney firm Kingston and Partners is handling the matter.
Translink, owned by Songnan (Morris) Huang, paid $7.5 million for the site in 2021, but it failed to reopen in November 2024 for the summer season due to the need for major upgrade works.
It has never reopened, and the site slid into neglect and vandalism, sparking a community campaign to save the facility.
The owner cited “significant vandalism” and the “escalating cost of repairing aging infrastructure” as reasons that reopening the waterpark was “prohibitive.”
Translink, or at least a spokesperson for the company, kept suggesting on social media that Big Splash would eventually reopen, even hiring local urban planning consultancy Purdon to engage with government and the community on proposals to redevelop the site, including some kind of water facility.
Purdon said in November that Translink wanted it to “develop a proposal that meets current zoning requirements, is financially sustainable, and retains recreational uses”.
“Plans under consideration include a 25-metre indoor/outdoor pool and outdoor splash park, ensuring water-based fun remains part of the site’s future … There are no plans to rezone the site,” it said.
The site is zoned PRZ2 Restricted Access Recreation.
More to come.
