Residents not told about Breakfast on the Beach

Local resident group, Bondi Beach Precinct, is furious Waverley Council has failed to consult with the community over its decision to host the Breakfast on Bondi.

The ‘community focused-event’ is expected to draw a crowd of over 5,000 foodies to Bondi Beach as part of the Crave Sydney Food Festival.

But according to Bondi Beach Precinct’s secretary, Lenore Kulakauskas, residents were not consulted on the matter.

“The first thing any resident, any precinct or anybody knew about it was on Saturday [27 August] when it was in the Herald,” she said. “There was just no notification at all.”

The event, previously known as Breakfast on the Bridge, has been moved to Bondi to make it more accessible to the public. Over 6,000 people attended last year out of the 190,000 that applied for tickets.

Waverley Council granted approval to hold Breakfast on Bondi on the basis that it would be ‘low impact’.

“The Breakfast on Bondi low-impact event will be a free, family friendly, no alcohol picnic breakfast from 6.00am, finishing at 9.00am,” wrote Waverley Council’s Divisional Manager for Bondi and Beaches, Lorna Bussell in an email to the group. “The only structure on the beach will a small stage set up at the foot of the main stairs onto the beach.”

But Ms Kulakauskas said the event is the latest in a string of seaside activities that have made Bondi a busy suburb all year round.

“We used to have winter as quiet, down time because summer is always ridiculous. But it seems like Council just keeps on putting more and more stuff on, and it’s driving everyone crazy.”

A spokesperson for Waverley Council said: “Each event is assessed on a case by case basis… They [Crave Sydney Food Festival] put in an application, it was assessed and it was approved.”

But Ms Kulakauskas is skeptical about this.

“The trouble is that Council have their set of little boxes to tick to say why something is good, but they don’t necessarily have a box which says the residents think this is a good idea,” she said.

A maximum of 20 stalls will be permitted in Bondi Park during the event which will also host cooking demonstrations from Sydney chef Bill Granger and Masterchef contestant Hayden Quinn.

The event organisers, Crave, will be responsible for the clean-up.

Crave Sydney could not be reached for comment on the matter.

By Victoria Craw