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“We’re really confident that … what we’re going to deliver meets the needs of the wider community.”
But the saga continues. Opponents say the public funding is not delivering enough broader swimming and lifesaving community benefit, with the pool and lawn to remain for use by members only.
Objectors are also annoyed at some members for likening the Williamstown club’s plan to Sydney’s Bondi Icebergs. Godde said the phrase was being misinterpreted as it was used by only a few swimmers in reference to the sense of community of the famous Bondi pool – “absolutely not” the glitz of the adjoining fine-dining restaurant.
An artist’s impression of the proposed redevelopment.Credit: Hobsons Bay City Council
Hobsons Bay City Council has received a petition with 194 signatures calling for the redevelopment to be for lifesaving facilities only and to be limited to a single storey.
Petition organiser Paul Austin, a former senior editor at The Age, lives near the club but says the number of signatories reflects a neighbourhood-wide disgruntlement.
“The council and the state government should be thinking very hard about the way this private club is proposing to use millions of dollars of public money,” Austin said.
He said the plan would damage the amenity, heritage and character of the area.
“This is less about saving swimmers and more about serving cocktails,” he said. “Everyone supports the lifesavers, everyone acknowledges the lifesaving club needs an injection of money and a redevelopment. The trouble is this proposal is too big.”
Resident Jason Bryce said the project should have been finished years ago but the issue had become toxic locally, bringing friction between neighbours.
Bryce, a former a member of the club who now runs Williamstown Open Water Swim Coaching just outside it, airs complaints that are echoed by other locals: that the pool and the lawn cannot be used without a membership and the ageing pool usually appears empty.
He said a new indoor pool with modest entry fees would have served the community better. He is also against the club’s expansion into the adjoining beach car park, removing 26 spaces.
“This is not like any other lifesaving club; it’s a fenced-off social beach club,” he said.
With the state government funding stemming from the emergency management budget, Bryce argued the money should be used to build an observation tower at the middle of the beach, a first-aid room, boat storage and ramps.
“The funding should be used for lifesaving and not to support a licensed bar.”
Godde stressed that the club was inclusive and its annual membership fees were minimal, at $175 for an adult and $90 for a Nipper.
“Anyone who wants to be a member, can be a member,” he said. “The money gets reinvested back into equipment [and training] that we use on the beaches to save people’s lives.”
An artist’s impression of a beach view of the proposed changes.Credit: Hobsons Bay City Council
Godde said he was disappointed by objectors’ claims, because the major redevelopment – the first in more than a century – was necessary to accommodate the club’s 1800 members and equipment. He said there were almost 200 volunteers who patrolled the beach between November and April and about 400 Nippers.
“We’re the third-biggest lifesaving club in Victoria and we’re effectively bursting at the seams.”
He said the second storey was vital because the ground floor would be mostly used for storing equipment, some of which was currently in shipping containers and hard to access.
“On hot days we get several thousand people on our beach at once, so you can imagine the amount of equipment that we need to make sure that all beachgoers are safe,” Godde said. “This [redevelopment] is going to allow us to future-proof the club for 100 years and continue to serve the local community.”
He said the pool was used roughly nine months of the year and was used for swimming carnivals and lessons. Disability access would be added, he said, but otherwise it would remain fundamentally unchanged.
Local MP Melissa Horne was key to securing the state funds for the club’s upgrade and has been a vocal backer of the project. When residents asked to view the funding agreement, she responded that it was confidential.
A Victorian government spokeswoman said the upgrade was about making the beach safer.
“We want to see this project get under way ASAP — the community has waited long enough,” she said.
Hobsons Bay City Council is listed as the applicant on the plans. “The proposal is on council-managed land and council is responsible for delivering the project in partnership with the Williamstown Swimming & Life Saving Club,” a spokesman said.
The council spokesman said significant community and club engagement had informed the development of the designs.
Community consultation for the plans closed on Friday. The council did not disclose how many letters of support and opposition were received. The plan will be considered by councillors at a future meeting once staff complete their assessment.
“Council has received significant support from the wider community towards the redevelopment as it currently stands,” the spokesman said.
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