Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club: Approval for $10m makeover to include ‘Museum of Surf’ and 163-seat restaurant
A $10m refurb of an ageing Sydney surf club, which includes a museum featuring the king of surfing and a new restaurant on the beach, has been given the go-ahead. See the plans.
Manly
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A $10m-plus makeover of the historic and ageing Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club has been given the go-ahead by state government planners.
“Freshy”, one of the earliest surf clubs formed on the northern beaches – in 1908 – will include a Museum of Surf as part of the radical refurbishment.
And the Sydney North Planning Panel has allowed a 163-seat restaurant, with an outside terrace, on the second floor of an extension to the 90-year Art Deco-style clubhouse.
The new eatery, which will be open for breakfast lunch and dinner, will join a new daytime cafe for 62 patrons.
Plans for the renovation had been the target of local critics who had concerns that the beach car park would not be able to cope with potential increased patronage at the clubhouse.
The northern beaches’ branch of the coastal community lobby group, Surfrider Foundation Australia, attacked the restaurant bid, describing it as “money-grubbing commercialisation of the coast”.
Branch president Brendan Donohue told the Manly Daily that public money was being spent “developing ideas that no-one really wants or needs”.
In his latest submission to planning authorities in December, Mr Donohoe urged that Northern Beaches Council, which owns the building, drop the Freshwater revamp and spend the money on better life saving facilities at Manly Life Saving Club.
“Freshwater does not need another restaurant, does not need a ‘Surf Museum’ and most certainly does not need more pressure on an already oversubscribed carpark obviously created for beach users not the dining public,” he wrote.
“Surfers can’t surf in restaurants so why must diners be provided ocean views?”
The club boasts strong links with surfing after Hawaiian Olympic swimming champion Duke Kahanamoku attracted crowds while demonstrating his surfboard riding skills at the beach in December 1914 and January 1915.
His original board, now displayed in the current clubhouse that opened in 1935, will be a feature of the new museum that will be integrated into a new muti-purpose hall.
There will also be new training rooms and a larger gym along with increased storage for surf life saving equipment.
A separate amenities block, part of the Freshwater Beach Masterplan, with publics toilets and changerooms will be built before building work begins on the clubhouse.
Details in a planning report lodged with the DA reveal that the existing building was “ageing and requires upgraded and additional spaces to serve the needs of the surf club members and the wider community”.
“A new rear extension and internal works are proposed to meet increased demand while maintaining the heritage significance of the club,” the report stated.
The current rear extension of the clubhouse, built in 1986, would be partially demolished.
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