THE Sorrento Surf Life Saving Club is desperately hoping to revamp its aging and decaying facilities but a $2.5 million funding shortfall to deliver a clubhouse redevelopment is threatening its future.
The club’s 22-year-old building is no longer fit as a training facility or to have lifeguards or equipment onsite, which the club’s vice-president Marc Clavin warned would threaten the safety of visitors and impact its dwindling member numbers.
“We are now at a point where we need to call on all members of our community including non-resident owners of holiday homes to contribute to meeting the funding shortfall to ensure that the new clubhouse can be delivered and maintain the safety of our beach for all,” he said.
“While visitation to the ocean beach has rapidly grown, putting huge pressure on public safety, lifesaving capacity is limited to the number of active members available to cover the roster. “New facilities will play a key role in continuing to rebuild membership following the impacts of the pandemic.”
The state government has provided $3.5 million towards the club’s redevelopment while the Mornington Peninsula Shire has committed to contributing $1 million. According to a shire report in May, it stated it wouldn’t release any money until the club was able to find the funding shortfall before any work on the $7 million project began. All funding would improve the club’s facilities, create new public amenities and undertake urgent remediation works to a rockpool and a new western beach access ramp.
Sorrento beach is one of the busiest in the state, attracting more than 650,000 visitors each year – of which half use the rockpool, which currently “presents a very real risk” to users because of dilapidation of a concrete wave and tide barrier. Recent incidents have seen swimmers injured and rescued by lifesavers who provide a crucial role in preventing drownings and providing first aid.
In 2021, the club entered a two-year agreement with the shire before any funds were to be released, but this lapsed this year after the club was unable to secure a lease with Parks Victoria. Following the club’s request, the shire approved to extend its $1 million funding in May for a further two years until 30 June 2026 (Financial lifeline offer to lifesaving club extension, The News 24/05/24).
The club confirmed with The News that a lease would be secured once the clubhouse had been rebuilt. But without the remaining funding secured, the project appears in limbo, but the club has “no doubt” it will go ahead with the support from community members to raise the shortfall. However, the shire’s May report noted the redevelopment was at “risk” of not being completed by mid-2026 because of the “complexity of the approvals required, the requirement for further design adjustments and the length of the procurement process”.
Mr Clavin, who has been working on the project since the start of 2020, said the project was critical and would deliver many benefits including a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment. “Lifesaver and Nipper numbers have been static for several years due to a number of factors including lack of accommodation, member facilities and the limited amenity of the current clubhouse,” he said. “Failure to attract new members and volunteers due to inadequate facilities will ultimately reduce lifesaving capacity.”
If the project does not get off the ground, the club would have to refund $1 million to the shire within five years of a notice being issued.
Mornington Peninsula Shire said it was unable to comment on whether the club had secured a lease with Parks Victoria. The also stated that the planning permit application is still under assessment.
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 25 September 2024
