FROM THE PRESIDENT
‘We have a unique opportunity to participate in the history of both Bronte and Bronte Surf Life Saving Club, by creating a building that will serve the community now and for generations to come.
Your financial contribution will help ensure we have a state of the art building from which we continue to provide lifesaving services, education and training to our patrolling members, training for Nippers, Youth and Masters programs, and a hub in which the broader community can gather.
A surf life saving club is more than the sum of its parts...it is, quite simply, the focal point for the whole community.’
The building that houses Bronte Surf Lifesaving Club was built in 1974, at a time when the needs of the Club, the community and Council were very different. The building has been adapted over time to accommodate current functionality reasonably well, but it is now in a state that requires urgent repairs and significant ongoing maintenance.
The cost of conducting the necessary repairs and upgrades to the existing building runs into the millions of dollars, and in alignment with their Strategic Asset Management Plan 5, Waverley Council has made the decision to rebuild the facility.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I understand the repairs, but why does the building need upgrades?
The current building was constructed when:
- Bronte SLSC had 200 members, the Club now has almost 2,000 members patrolling our beach and serving the community.
- Women were not permitted to be members of the Club, there are now over 750 female members.
- There was no Nippers program. We now have over 800 Nippers, our largest member base.
- There isn’t adequate storage for our equipment needs. Lifesavers use IRBs (Inflatable Rescue Boats) and rescue boards to conduct rescues, these need to be stored and maintained somewhere. While we can’t begin to imagine what the equipment going into the future will be, we need to have secure, flexible, practical areas to store this equipment.
Why is Waverley Council involved?
Bronte is unique among surf lifesaving clubs because we share physical space with council and work in close alliance with them to provide services to the local area.
We are working in close partnership with Waverley Council on this project that will provide a building for the surf live saving club, a venue for the council lifeguard operations, change rooms, showers and toilets for park and beach-goers, a kiosk, and a site for council maintenance operations.
When will the community be able to see the designs?
After the recent round of community consultation a preferred design, selected by Council and BSLSC, will be available for consideration and comment at the end of November. There will be a subsequent public exhibition of the formal development application early next year.
What will the building cost?
The cost estimate for this project is $9 million, which will be shared between Waverley Council and Bronte SLSC. The Club is the grateful recipient of federal and state government funding for part of our share of the project costs, and we will seek further government support as the project progresses.
What support is Bronte SLSC seeking?
To complete the build and fit out of training & education spaces, the administrative office, equipment storage areas and community and function spaces – all of which will serve the community well into the future - we are seeking to raise $1 million from the community and our supporters.
Community Supporters
We are grateful for all levels of support from our community.