West Beach Surf Life Saving Clubs opens new clubrooms after $9 million redevelopment

The West Beach Surf Life Saving club has officially opened its new club rooms with members and locals delighted with the result – especially the amazing sea views. Take a look here.

The West Beach Surf Life Saving club officially opened its redeveloped rooms on Saturday, with the new facility set to provide members and locals with improved programs and great hospitality.

The $9 million rebuild, which was completed in December last year by Partek Construction & Interiors, received $2.5 million from the state government, a $2.05 million grant from the federal government along with council and community support towards the project.

Board member and Director of Youth Development, Sarah Kemp said the new facility was “fantastic” and has been constructed with inclusivity and accessibility in mind.

“We have 235 nippers at the surf club and we run 20 sessions across summer for our junior lifesavers … so to be able to have facilities for them, which are contemporary and provides change rooms which are accessible but also somewhere to safely house our equipment is really important,” Ms Kemp said.

“We are first and foremost a surf lifesaving operation so for us to be able to have improved facilities, to be able to perform emergency rescues and to operate our patrols from, has been really important.”

The West Beach Surf Life Saving club officially opened its redeveloped rooms on Saturday. Picture: Sam Noonan

The $9 million rebuild was completed in December last year by Partek Construction & Interiors. Picture: Sam Noonan

Ms Kemp said that the club had outgrown their previous rooms with a lack of adequate change rooms and toilets causing problems for members.

“We’ve really tried to make sure that the new building is open, it’s accessible and it’s sympathetic to the surrounds,

“We deliberately didn’t go up another level, we’ve actually kept it so that we are just on street level and below so that everyone can enjoy the views the same as they would have previously,” she said.

The space has been built to reflect the natural surroundings with the exterior featuring neutral colours and the roof shape emulating the sand dunes.

The new facility has been constructed with inclusivity and accessibility in mind. Picture: Sam Noonan

It is hoped that the improved site will allow the club to develop their programs and grow their membership as well as continue to serve the community.

“The surf club has always been a community hub and we really want to make sure that we had a building which was open to the public and accessible for the public members,” Ms Kemp said.

“To have a home which is inclusive, but also allows us to sort of operate more effectively means that we can cater to more parts of the community than we’ve been able to previously.”

The bistro and dining area at the West Beach Surf Life Saving Club. Picture: Sam Noonan

The club also offers a bistro dining experience where locals can enjoy everything from Thursday night schnitzel night to a delicious harissa lamb ragu pappardelle.

“We’ve been incredibly lucky with the support we’ve had from community members in patronising the kitchen facilities at our bar and our restaurant which is a really beautiful spot,” Ms Kemp said.

“I really hope that the club serves not only the community but also as a place of gathering, a place of education [and] a place of celebration and that it continues to be somewhere which is the focal point for the community.”