Northbridge Baths: residents call for improvements to upkeep of popular tidal pool

Regular users of Northbridge Baths say they have been left with no choice but to maintain the facility themselves due to lack of upkeep by the local council.

There are calls for Willoughby Council to improve the upkeep of one of the region’s most popular outdoor pools as locals say regular swimmers have been left with the daily task of maintaining the facility themselves.

Broken steps, graffiti, illegal fishing and large amounts of dumped rubbish among concerns raised by regular users of Northbridge Baths.

The unsupervised tidal pool is owned and managed by Willoughby Council and attracts large crowds from far and wide, particularly during school holidays and summer months.

A photo of cracked steps at Northbridge Baths. Photos: Max Menzies.

Multiple residents say the general upkeep of the 98-year-old facility has been in steady decline in recent months and is also in need of upgrades to address dilapidation and safety issues such as cracked tiles and rust.

Resident Charles McCurrich, who swims at the pool five times per week, said items such as chairs, tiles, and even a full bins of rubbish are often found dumped in the pool.

Northbridge Baths. Picture: John Appleyard

“Most mornings when you go down there you find chairs thrown into the water, rubbish, bottles smashed – last week my daughter cut her hand on broken glass, she’s four-year-old,” he said.

Missing tiles is another issue.

Residents are hoping the upkeep of the site can be improved.

“There’s graffiti, we’re constantly finding fishing lines and hooks by the pool, there was a homeless man living there for a year and we report issues to rangers it’s often not until four hours later that they turn up.

“There’s a regular swimmer that dives every day and collects all the tiles that have been dumped in the pool. If it wasn’t for us looking after it, the place would be dire.”

Another resident in an email to the council said she had encountered rubbish such as magazines, chairs and food scraps including a large prawn head discarded at the site.

A photo of CCTV cameras at Northbridge Baths

Resident John Whitlaw questioned the effectiveness of CCTV cameras at the pool which another resident said does “not appear to be having the necessary effect.”

Newly elected Willoughby Council mayor Tanya Taylor – who is a regular at the pool herself – said she is intending to follow up the concerns with council staff next week.

“I’m a big user of the baths and it’s probable that some of the issues have been more evident over the summer holidays when more people are using the pool and staff have been on leave,” she said.

Tiles missing from there regular spots are collected under chairs.

Ms Taylor said possible solutions could include securing an operator to take over the vacant canteen building next to the pool which could put an extra set of eyes on the job of monitoring the site.

“If we could get a canteen provider down there it would be fantastic and maybe part of the contract would be to monitor waste,” she said.

Residents have also called for increased patrols by rangers and more regular cleaning of the site.

Willoughby Council was contacted for further comment but did not respond at the time of publication.