Northern Beaches Council has released the latest concept designs for a new Manly Life Saving Club, to a mixed reception. Meanwhile, some members privately report the building is falling down around them.
After three years of community consultation, technical studies, checks for heritage compliance and architectural work, Council has settled on a new design for the Club (a knock down rebuild), which they hope will form the basis of the DA application set to be submitted by the end of this year. Works are expected to cost between $15-$18 million.
Council has stated that, in response to input from local residents at six meetings with the Community Working Group, (the last few including the architect), along with the constraints of the sewer easement at the rear of the building and other site limitations, the latest design has been kept ‘as close to the original footprint as possible’.
The project is now roughly half the size of the building that stood on the site between 1938 and 1980, while still ensuring that the new building will be fit for purpose and meet the requirements of the Club and various other stakeholder groups, proponents stress. It is, however, larger than what is currently there.
How big is it?
Opponents of the proposed design, chiefly members of the South Steyne Heritage Action group, say the bulk and scale of the building is beyond an acceptable level. They recently held a protest mapping out the space the new building will take up, and gathered a few hundred signatures against the design.
Council, however, insists the footprint is expanding by little more than 10 per cent. As evidence, Council provided the fact that the existing surf club’s ground floor footprint area is 611sqm (including the 159sqm where craft and other items are stored at the rear of the building). This does not include the craft stored on the promenade. The proposed ground floor building footprint is 667sqm – or just less than a 10% increase.
Still, the South Steyne Heritage Action Group remain unhappy with the latest designs. However, Action Group member Susan Pettifer stressed that “The perception that local residents are not supportive of the project is just not true. We want the club redeveloped but still have issues we consider important before the project goes ahead.
“We remain convinced that the new design still encroaches on public space, abuts the nearby pedestrian crossing and will affect residents’ views from Ashburner Street, looking towards the beach. And we think that the proposed plan for the storage of surfcraft is also not the proper solution.”
Fellow group member Jeremy Cooper echoed Susan’s thoughts saying: “Taking land to the north of the club on the promenade is what most irks me. Surely the pedestrian area at the front of the club is more important than a carpeted function area inside, which will be vacant for most days of every week. And the brutal design looks to me like a nuclear bomb shelter. We absolutely want the club to have the best facilities, but any new club must be sympathetically designed and constructed.”
When interviewed, Manly LSC President, Victoria O’Halloran, told Manly Observer that she’d been involved with the project for the last seven to eight years.
“It’s really disheartening that we’re not further advanced after so much time has elapsed,” she said.
“We serve the community, and we save lives. And all we’re after is for our club, that’s been here for 115 years, to have a building that’s not falling down around our ears, is fit for purpose for Council Lifeguards, our volunteer members and visitors, and makes Manly proud.”
“I’m also disappointed that some people in our community don’t seem to value what the Manly LSC offers. Our members are volunteers who undergo extensive training, both physical and online, and have to maintain compliance standards in terms of fitness and competency. We serve the community, and we save lives. And all we’re after is for our club, that’s been here for 115 years, to have a building that’s not falling down around our ears, is fit for purpose for Council Lifeguards, our volunteer members and visitors, and makes Manly proud.
“We want everyone on board with this project and certainly don’t want our neighbours’ views impacted. We have to improve several pinch points around the site and the building’s location requires it to be shifted away from the Sydney Water sewer easement behind the Club.
“We absolutely won’t be engaging in any of the negativity that’s floating around. The ball is now in Council’s court and the DA must be finalised so we can get on with our fundraising efforts and be eligible for grants like that on offer from SLSC NSW. Council has told us the DA should be submitted in the second half of this year, but it then has to be reviewed by the independent organisation, Sydney North Local Planning, so it could take another year before it’s approved.
“In the meantime, the Club is literally in decay. Our membership has far outgrown the facility and we have little room to store our lifesaving equipment. Money needs to be spent on the building now. There are sections of the club that can’t even be locked! We need Council to put an interim maintenance plan in place, so staff, members and visitors can at least feel safe.”
“IN THE MEANTIME, THE CLUB IS LITERALLY IN DECAY. OUR MEMBERSHIP HAS FAR OUTGROWN THE FACILITY AND WE HAVE LITTLE ROOM TO STORE OUR LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT. MONEY NEEDS TO BE SPENT ON THE BUILDING NOW.”
Council’s response was that its facilities team continues to work with the Club on any urgent maintenance items.
What’s the latest concept?
Concept designs were preliminarily shown and discussed with the Community Working group in May this year. After considering comments from all stakeholders, Council then finalised the concept design released last week. Specifically, the amendments made are the lift design on the first and partial second floor and the external façade of the building.
The design as it now stands offers:
- New accessible, family and unisex amenities incl. extra showers
- Wider access and improved public thoroughfare at the Marine Parade ‘pinch point’
- Access for those with disabilities or limited mobility with a wheelchair accessible lift from ground to top floors
- More equitable amenities and facilities for the Club’s ever-growing number of female volunteers
- A clear line of sight for volunteer lifesavers to the flagged areas on the beach and access to drone facilities
- Improved storage for lifesaving equipment and water craft, inside the building, so nothing is kept on the promenade
- Better facilities for members incl. a new gym and new training rooms that meet emergency services requirements (so members don’t have to use the club function area for training as is presently the case)
- Retention of a function space available for community hire
- Sustainability measures including solar panels, a green roof and passive energy design
- Retention of the kiosk and café primarily as a takeaway service
- Retention of all heritage-listed Norfolk Pine trees
Architecture firm Terroir says it is committed to ensuring the new building is in keeping with the local environment with the detailed DA design to be tested against all Building Code of Australia requirements. They have not publicly responded to claims the new design is “ugly”.
Council states that, while no design will accommodate everybody’s needs or wishes, “… the new facility will serve a new generation of lifesaving personnel while improving access and facilities for the 3.5million visitors to Manly Beach each year.”
Funding remains an issue, with Council admitting to being some $7 million short of the final cost of the project, but it believes that additional funding will be much easier to raise, once (if) the DA is approved.
It will then be submitted to the Sydney North Local Planning Panel for review.
Information on the project will be regularly updated on the Your Say website at: https://yoursay.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au/Manly_Life_Saving_Club
