Waverley Council releases revised plans for Bondi Pavilion redevelopment

Having faced high profile opposition to its plans to redevelop the Bondi Pavilion, Waverley Council has released a revised proposal for a makeover of the Sydney landmark.

Fronting onto Sydney's famous Bondi Beach, the Pavilion has been used by locals and beachgoers since 1929, but has gone without a major upgrade for decades.

The planned $15.2 million makeover will restore the Pavilion's heritage facade, and upgrade facilities in the northern courtyard, including doubling the number of female toilets.

However, in the face of protests and a celebrity-led community campaign, it will avoid the most controversial elements of the original redevelopment plans, including changes to the building's first floor and the music studios in the southern courtyard.

Commenting on the new proposal, Waverley Mayor Sally Betts said the Council was "really excited" with the current development plans, which were formally lodged on Friday.

Mayor Betts advised “we have been working on this for years and years.

"We have a responsibility to the people of Waverley, the people of NSW and the people of Australia to make this an iconic building."

As part of the upgrade, the Pavilion will get a new museum and exhibition space, a new airconditioned pottery studio, a larger toilet block, and a new community space with the capacity to become another music studio.

The building's heritage facade will also be restored, meaning the popular Bucket List cafe's glass rotunda, which overlooks the beach, will be removed. The cafe's premises will also be subject to a new commercial tender process.

The internal courtyards will be re-paved and landscaped, and the Pavilion's entrance on Campbell Parade, which is currently used as a council car park, will be grassed and converted to pedestrian-only access.

However, the "driving force" behind the upgrade was the need for more bathroom facilities, Mayor Betts said, with the existing toilet block unable to cope with 50,000 beach goers who descend on Bondi Beach on a busy summer day.

Waverley Council General Manager Cathy Henderson said the Council hoped construction would begin by March next year and finished by the middle of 2019, during which time the Pavilion would remain open to the public.

Approval now depends on the Greater Sydney Commission, which will review the development application after it goes on public exhibition within the next fortnight.

The $15.2 million makeover, which will be fully funded by the Council, is the first phase in a $39 million refurbishment of the historic building, after the Council decided last year to split the development into two stages.

The original plan to convert the first floor of the pavilion into areas for cafes and restaurants, led to a ‘Save Bondi Pavilion campaign with locals objecting to what they felt was a privatisation of public space.

Images: Waverley Council's plans for the Bondi Pavilion include the restoration of its exterior (top) and a revamped interior (below). Courtesy of Waverley Council.

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