Bondi Pavilion plan short on details

BY TALLULAH THOMPSON

Waverley Council has unveiled a plan for the development of Bondi Pavilion amidst criticism for not addressing community concerns over the project.

The development application claims to restore the building’s heritage, retain community centre space, as well as achieve a five star green environmental rating.

Murray Cox, Member of the Save Bondi Pavilion group said, “[The DA] doesn’t answer the fundamental questions of what will happen with the upstairs and it doesn’t answer what has always been our principal concern which is what goes on inside the Pavilion?”

A Waverley Council media release states that decisions relating to the first floor have been deferred until the next Council is elected.

Waverley Mayor, Sally Betts said there was some misunderstanding over the claims.

“There is some thought that the council was going to privatise the upstairs.

“That’s not correct because we’ve never made that decision.

“So I just think there is a lot of misunderstanding although we have had a lot of community consultation over and over again,” she said.

John Wakefield, Waverley Labor Ward Councillor for Bondi, has also criticised the development application for not detailing the second stage of renovation.

“I have moved along and argued along with other councillors that the proposal to redevelop the Pavilion needs to be put up front.

“We need to tell the community from the beginning what the intention is to do with it – not to stage it and hide what the future might be, but to stage it so that the project is achievable and is within a good budget.

“The original budget put to councillors three years ago was $10 million dollars, it then became 20 million and it is now at 40 million dollars,” he said.

The first stage of the Bondi Pavilion Upgrade and Conservation Project was submitted by Waverley Council on March 31 and was costed at $15.21 million.

The designs for the first stage of redevelopment include a new gallery space, larger amenities block, landscaped courtyards, the pedestrianisation of the current Council car park and space for events and festivals.

Ms Betts justified the cost of the first stage of development saying the $15.21 million budget was largely made up of the cost of restoring the roof, replacing the substandard plumbing, and that it also included a $3 million contingency.

“The Pavilion is in drastic need of repair, although we’ve been spending a lot of money on the maintenance it obviously needs a whole lot more repair and renovation.

“Renovations of an old building do cost a lot of money,” she said.

According to both Mr Cox and Mr Wakefield, there were originally three plans shown to Ms Betts by the architects, including a minor refurbishment, a detailed refurbishment, and a grand $38 million redevelopment.

The $38 million redevelopment was the only plan put forward to Council and the community by the Mayor in December 2015.

Mr Cox said Bondi Pavilion could have become a hub for the cultural economy of Bondi.

“I don’t think Mayor Betts and her cohort have that kind of vision, I’m afraid to say,” he said.

Kilty O’Brien, Convenor of the Save Bondi Pavilion group, stated in a position paper that “as a result of the community campaign to Save Bondi Pavilion as a community and cultural centre, the Stage 1 plan makes some small steps in the right direction.”

Music studio facilities will also remain at Bondi Pavilion alongside the pottery studio which will be expanded.

Mr Wakefield said this was an important win but one that took over a year of lobbying and hours of debate on the floor of Council to achieve.

“It’s really disheartening after all of the consultations, all of the money, the rate payers’ money that’s been paid out for consultants and architects and engineers, and all the unpaid work that the community has put in, that two years later we’re still a year away from getting anything started,” he said.

The success of the development application will be determined by the Sydney Planning Panel and as part of the decision process the submission will be on statutory exhibition for 28 days from mid-April.

A public meeting will take place at Bondi Pavilion on April 26 where community groups will meet to examine the details of the development application.