Councillor calls for water park in blueprint for Bondi

Waverley Councillor Miriam Guttmann-Jones has called for the introduction of a water park as part of the Bondi Beach, Park and Pavilion Plan of Management.

With the plan due in March, Ms Guttman-Jones is adamant the revamp needs to focus on the natural beauty and amenity of the Bondi environment.

“What I’d love to see there is a water park feature for the kids. It would only feature in the summer [but] I think this would be very popular,” she said.

Ms Guttman-Jones said the inspiration for the water park idea came from seeing a water park on a trip to Townsville three years ago.

“Parents could watch the children and feel that the children were safe. The worst that could happen to them was the kids would get very wet and they didn’t have to worry about the kids drowning,” she said.

“I just sort of thought to myself, I would love to see this at Bondi.”

Speculation is mounting over the contents of the plan, which promises to introduce a number of key alterations to the precinct.

As part of Council’s Waverley Together 2 strategy, the 2013-2023 plan of management will outline a vision for the future management of the Bondi area over the next 10 years, encompassing Queen Elizabeth Drive, the Bondi Beach promenade, Wally Weekes Pool and Biddigal Reserve.

According to Councillor Dominic Wy Kanak, the plan will provide Council with a framework for understanding how Bondi is seen and utilised, both from the perspective of the local community and as an international icon.

“It’s very important for our Waverley residents and ratepayers because it’s going to be the local planning instrument that has to manage the different uses and demands of Bondi Beach and Bondi Park,” Mr Wy Kanak said.

“It will be a plan of management that has to balance and manage what are sometimes conflicting uses, and we hope [the final] plan of management will be one that satisfies all parties.”

An original plan of management was first created for the park and pavilion in 1995 to help meet the future needs of the community by having the sites maintained and cared for by Council. Last year, Waverley Council provided a variety of community forums and public consultation opportunities for residents to voice their suggestions on the best way forward.

Mayor Sally Betts said it was important to consider vehicle accessibility to the beach and the ways in which the Bondi Pavilion is being used by the community. “We would like to look at moving the cars from the front of the beach [and] we certainly need to look at storage for our depots and for all our Council staff,” she said.

“[Another issue] is the way the pavilion doesn’t function properly. We need to do some renovations and maybe open it up to the back … Whatever we need to do to make it more functional.”

The plan will look to balance the diverse needs of the Bondi community, business and visitors. Waverley Council will prepare a draft plan of management and master plan for public exhibition later this year.