Council is committed to supporting the renewal and upgrade of the North Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club. North Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club has been a vital part of the community for close to 100 years, providing essential volunteer lifesaving patrols, development of competition skills and members' fitness, training, and education services.
62 Prince Street, Cronulla
Project Background
In 2021, Council supported an application from North Cronulla Surf Lifesaving Club (NCSLSC) for renewal and upgrade of our surf club building at North Cronulla Beach. Council resolved to guarantee a loan for the Club to redevelop the facility.
In addition to the loan, the Club also secured grant funding from both the State and Federal Government, as well as Council, to contribute to the renewal of this Council asset.
In 2022, the Club started the redevelopment of their clubhouse facilities. Work on the project has since been temporarily suspended.
As a major stakeholder in this project, we are liaising closely with club management to ensure a quality facility is delivered that responds to the changing needs of our local community.
We recognise the strong value that our local surf lifesaving clubs bring to our community by providing a much-valued sporting and social outlet for club members. They also play a pivotal role in keeping millions of visitors to our beaches safe each year. That’s why we are committed to working with NCSLSC management to ensure this community asset is completed in a timely and financially responsible way.
We will provide further updates on this webpage as the project progresses.
Why did construction stop?
The builder engaged by NCSLSC for the construction work left the site in late January 2024 and did not return to complete the work.
With intent to progress the project, NCSLSC issued a ‘Notice to Take Works’ to the builder in May 2024 allowing the Club to seek and engage a new builder to complete the work. However, the club faced further challenges resulting in the project being temporarily suspended.
What is Council's role now?
Council has acknowledged the Club’s request for assistance and recognises that they cannot deliver the redevelopment.
To support the community services and amenities that are provided through this redevelopment, Council has approved to take-over and complete the project.
We are exploring all options as we move towards taking over the redevelopment project to ensure this valuable community asset is back in use sooner rather than later.
What is happening next?
We have been carrying out minor work to clean-up the site and improve safety and security.
Preparations are underway for us to engage a builder to complete the project. An Expression of Interest was issued to the industry in September 2024.
Work on site is anticipated to resume in early 2025.
Project Scope
The scope of work for the North Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club redevelopment is to complete construction of the new facility, which includes:
- improved public amenities,
- Improved lifeguard facilities
- storage areas
- a new kiosk and restaurant.
The redevelopment aims to create a dynamic and functional facility that will meet the ongoing needs of our community.
FAQs
We are working towards resuming work in early 2025.
Once we engage a suitably qualified builder, we will work with our construction partner to develop a detailed delivery programme for the project.
We will continue to provide updates as the project progresses to keep our community informed about the work.
Yes, all facilities currently available around the site will remain available for the duration of the project.
The Esplanade will remain open for our community, however, there may be times throughout the project that access in the immediate vicinity may be interrupted to allow for heavy vehicle access of specialised work. If this is ever the case, we will ensure appropriate plans are in place to provide advance warning for locals and visitors to the area.
We don’t anticipate there will be any disruption to the use of this much-loved playground that was recently delivered by Council for our community.
We’re committed to ensuring the redevelopment of the site (including club facilities, restaurant and kiosk) is completed at no net cost to ratepayers. Your elected Councillors recently approved the use of funds from the Strategic Priorities Reserve towards the project and we are working through options to ensure that the overall cost of the project is recovered. We will also work with other funding partners, including State and Federal Governments, to ensure that existing grant funding is available when required. Council’s previous financial involvement included making actual contributions towards the project and also as acting as guarantor on a $5.3 million loan to NCSLSC.