As the controversial North Sydney Pool redevelopment cost hits $89 million and is further delayed, North Shore Living investigates what has been left in the shallows to cover the cost.
It happens to us all, even those as celebrated as North Sydney Olympic pool, the Harbour jewel that has seen 86 world records smashed under Luna Park’s smile. The pool grew old and sprung a leak, and is now set to drain the State Government and North Sydney Council to the tune of $89 million, over $30 million more than initially agreed. Throw in completion delays – with local pools struggling to pick up the slack – and the shelving of other works to bridge budget gaps, questions are inevitable as to why this project has fallen into such deep water.
When $28 million-worth of upgrades were floated in 2018 to turn the complex, which housed both 25 metre and 50 metre pools and a gym, into a ‘state-of-the-art leisure centre,’ consensus was that future-proofing this heritage asset was money well spent. After all, more than 350,000 swimmers were making use of the pool each year.
It was the doubling of the budget to $63.9 million that started the rot, a new council-commissioned review has found. Pricewaterhouse Coopers was engaged in November last year to investigate the ‘management’ of the pool redevelopment. Most of the report is commercial in confidence, but council recently released some of the findings, including that the project had ‘poor pre-construction planning’ and ‘did not fully align with community consultation’.
So when developer Icon broke ground in March 2021, resulting ripples swiftly scuppered the November, 2022 completion. Enter COVID-19, supply chain delays, discovery of hazardous materials and endless rain, and the reopening drifted to April 2024, while the budget soared to $89 million. But has La Niña really rained on council’s most valuable asset to the tune of $30 million?
Framed by the Harbour Bridge, the historic pool has been closed since work began in 2021.
Initial funding stumped up by state and federal governments to the tune of $15 million, plus loans of $31 million and $17.9 million courtesy of council, was ‘never likely’ to do the job, the review found. Council had ‘not given consideration’ to internal project management, equipment and fit-out costs. Former mayor Jilly Gibson told North Shore Living that the redevelopment was ‘on time and on budget when the previous council concluded its term’ in December, 2021. New mayor Zoë Baker disagrees, arguing that ‘false economies’ were made prior to breaking ground, with an external project manager appointed –but then removed –following concept design.
Neither repairs to the Aqua Dining building, nor ‘sufficient contingency’ to cover
heritage, archaeological and brownfield risks, were accounted for, the Pricewaterhouse Coopers review found.
“The time and budget overruns have come at a huge cost to the North Sydney community.”
Councillor MaryAnn Beregi says that the pool delays and budget blow-outs have weighed heavily on the North Sydney community.
All 16 findings and 33 review recommendations – including engaging a quantity surveyor to assess future extension of time claims and reducing other planned works to help cover costs – were adopted by council in late April. Councillor MaryAnn Beregi tells North Shore Living that she is relieved. “The time and budget overruns have come at a huge cost to the North Sydney community,” Cr Beregi says. “Accepting the findings will allow this council to deliver the project to the highest standard.”
More than half of council’s planned $79.4 million 2023/24 capital works budget is now to be spent on the pool, its latest draft Operational Plan reveals, with budget gaps bridged via a ‘significant reduction’ of almost $12 million of other planned works and a ‘depletion of the capital works reserve,’ which provides for future projects.
Local planned upgrades, including a makeover for Cammeray’s tired Green Park playground and Neutral Bay’s Public Domain Masterplan, will take a back seat, with council agreeing that the pool project has come at a ‘high social cost to residents and ratepayers who will not get upgrades to other facilities they regularly use.’
“We are taking responsibility and are committed to managing the financial burden,” Mayor Baker tells NSL. Business rebates have also been rocked, with outdoor dining licence fees – scrapped during the COVID-10 pandemic but reinstated due to council’s ‘time for caution’ amid blow-out pool costs – set to bring in $1 million yearly.
Young swimmers have been stuck in the slow lane amid ongoing pool closures. Willoughby Leisure Centre is also shut until mid-2024, and Lane Cove Acquatic and Leisure Centre has seen swimming lesson wait lists explode, with up to 1,200 children vying for spots. Royal Life Saving CEO, Justin Scarr, says it is ‘critical’ to get children back into lessons as ‘non- swimming children become non-swimming adults, and that is a ticking time bomb.’
It is the sheer scope of works, plus the allocation of such stratospheric funding while other heritage assets need urgent works, that have called this project into question. The inner- west Dawn Fraser Baths in Balmain, Australia’s oldest existing public pool, is crying out for $6.7 million-worth of boardwalk and pavilion upgrades to save it from being swallowed by the sea. This 1880’s gem, named after the Olympian champion who swam her first laps there, is now tipped for ‘demolition via neglect,’ say worried locals, flatlining any future Frasers keen to emerge, dripping, from its depths.
It is clear that, for now, the community must accept council’s plea to ‘be patient a little longer,’ and hope that words spoken by James Taylor, President of the Olympic Federation, at the pool’s 1936 opening, still ring true. “This pool is high-class from every angle, perfect for champions of the hour and of the future. It was worth the wait.”
POOL WORKS TIMELINE
North Sydney Olympic Pool opens to public
April 1936
25-metre indoor pool opens to public on-site
2001
Consideration of pool redevelopment begins
2013
Initial project capital costings confirmed at $28m
June 2018
Pool approved for $57.9m redevelopment
March 2019
DA lodged and placed on public exhibition
October 2019
Pool upgrade budget increases to $63.9m
December 2020
Pool upgrade work begins
March 2021
Predicted completion date
November 2022
Pool upgrade budget increases to $89m
April 2023
Anticipated completion date
April 2024
By Catherine Lewis