Clovelly to Botany coastal walk work unfinished, five years after plans announced

Plans to close the gaps of one of Sydney’s most spectacular coastal walks to form a stunning 29km route have been delayed, five years after it was first announced.

Half a decade ago, plans were announced to carve out a coastal walk which would close one of the last gaps in a stunning 29km hike across Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

But they are still not complete.

Randwick Council first revealed to the Southern Courier in August 2017 it would link the famous Bondi to Coogee beach walk all the way to Botany.

So far, the walk extends down to Clovelly and then onto Malabar, but then there is a gap until it rejoins at La Perouse.

With the coast adjoining four golf courses, walking the section is considered unsafe.

Work started four years ago in the NSW Golf Club at Cape Banks to link the section safely is still incomplete.

La Perouse to Yarra Bay walkway

The walk picks back up at La Perouse and continues 2.8km onto Yarra Bay.

As well as the missing link between Malabar and La Perouse, there are some sections elsewhere where people have to walk out onto roads. This is particularly the case at Lurline Bay in Maroubra.

The walk passes the beautiful Malabar Ocean Pool. Picture: supplied.

The $200,000 project had been carried over to the 2022-23 budget, but was put on hold and remained at the planning phase, according to the council’s carry over schedule.

“Concept design and consultation is underway. Hydrological and coastal engineering studies are currently being finalised,” the document read.

Randwick Council’s June 2022 progress report also stated the 2021-22 plan to “design and document a coastal walkway route around Lurline Bay” was zero per cent complete.

According to that document, a consultant had been hired to give coastal and marine advice about the coastal walkway at Lurline Bay.

Randwick Council’s map shows the incomplete section of the coastal walk in red

“The final report and findings were due 30 June 2022 but have been delayed,” the document reads.

“The information in the report will be used to prepare a feasibility assessment and design for the elevated walkway off the rock cliff. The engagement of consultants to prepare the design is scheduled for January 2023”.

Maroubra resident and avid walker Jane Whitton said the delay was frustrating.

“There are only a couple of parts that need to be finished to make it a really beautiful, seamless walkway,” she said.

“It’s not great to have worry about golf balls hitting you for some of it. We’re so lucky to live where we do and we want to take advantage of that by walking safely along the coast.

“I haven’t heard anything for a while about when it’s finally going to be done.”

A Randwick Council spokesperson said getting a coastal engineering consultant to model the ocean influence on the coastal walkway structure at Lurline Bay was “very complex work and the modelling has taken longer than planned”.

“The ocean behaviour, including wave height, will provide information to assist with project feasibility and the design phase of the project which is planned commence in early 2023,” the spokesperson said.