Asbestos ‘threat’ to Brighton Life Saving Club nippers
Bayside councillors fear stalled progress on the Dendy Beach Pavilion upgrade will affect hundreds of Brighton Life Saving Club nippers which use the asbestos riddled clubhouse.
Inner South
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HUNDREDS of Brighton Life Saving Club nippers will be forced to endure another summer in asbestos riddled conditions if the Dendy Beach Pavilion upgrade is not allowed to go ahead, Bayside councillors have said.
North Ward councillor Alex del Porto told last month’s council meeting that “1000 kids have to negotiate asbestos and water in their lockers and on the floor” while Southern Ward councillor Clarke Martin told the same meeting “(the nippers) are going to get smashed by asbestos”.
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Both claims could not be verified but Brighton Life Saving Club director Tim Bolton said in a statement the facility’s asbestos guttering is in “very poor condition”.
“The existing building is in a very sad state of repair,” he said.
“The floor has holes which have been patched and gets soaked by water from the drain and subfloor, all in all the building is not far from being unsuitable or condemned for Life Saving activities.”
The club is in line for an upgrade as part of the Dendy Beach Pavilion project but multiple hurdles have stopped the project dead.
Councillors lamenting the lack of progress voted to seek state level political intervention at the last council meeting.
They hope to have Aboriginal Victoria’s decision to block the council’s most recent Cultural heritage Management Plan — a requirement of the planning permit — overturned.
Cr Martin called the situation “perplexing”.
“I don’t know what is behind it all,” Cr Martin said.
“There seems to be a third hand in the background … influencing what is happening.”
Cr del Porto said the club members were “suffering” because of the delay while fellow North Ward councillor Michael Heffernan called it “just wrong”.
News of the asbestos riddled club comes as Leader News can reveal the council was first warned it would find additional asbestos buried in the foreshore reserve back in September 2012 if it went ahead with the pavilion upgrade plan.
“Given that the material was not exposed and no soil excavation was being undertaken at the time, the site was not deemed to present a risk to the public and soil testing was not required,” Environment, Recreation & Infrastructure director Steven White said.
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