Whyalla City Council is working with the Whyalla Surf Live Saving Club (WSLSC) on a brand-new facility, including a new café space. Pictured in front of the existing building are, from left, WSLSC members Sharlie-Ann Brown, President Annette Zubrinich, Rachel Barlow, Isabella Barlow, Mayor Clare McLaughlin, Jacob Barlow, Sammy Ramsay and Phil Zubrinich.
Major Foreshore Facility Progressing
14 June 2022
Yet another upgrade to enhance our spectacular foreshore is in the planning, with Whyalla City Council working with Surf Life Saving SA (SLSSA) on a brand-new facility, including a new café space.
The existing Whyalla Surf Life Saving Club (WSLSC) building – including the former café building – is nearing the end of its serviceable life, with more funds required to upgrade it to ensure regulatory compliance, than to completely rebuild it.
With repairs becoming critical, the WSLSC and SLSSA have commenced a project to redevelop the facility. This includes $2.3 million in State Government funding to design and construct an entirely new building, with the WSLSC and Council funding the remainder of the project (including seeking additional government support).
Emergency Services Minister, Hon. Joe Szakacs MP, said the redevelopment of the WSLSC is a crucial step in ensuring that front-line surf lifesavers are equipped with essential community safety tools to service the local area.
“The State Government is proud to continue to support the ongoing redevelopment of our vital Surf Life Saving Clubs across SA,” Minister Szakacs says.
“We’re pleased to see this project commence soon to support the community of Whyalla. As a former nipper myself, I know the value these investments make in supporting our volunteers of the future.”
Critical for Community Safety
WSLSC President Annette Zubrinich said the new building would be a huge win for Whyalla, with the redevelopment likely to occur over the next two-to-three years.
“The WSLSC has a strong and proud membership base that cares deeply for the community and provides a critical, volunteer lifesaving service at our beach, including in the past year putting through the largest number of patrolling members trained and assessed in more than a decade,” Mrs Zubrinich said.
“The redevelopment will also allow the club to continue to deliver community-focussed programs such as nippers and the Accessible Beach Program; look at expanding the Vacswim program to include the beach; while the club can continue to provide water cover for schools, the open water swim in the marina and the local triathlon.”
Benefits for the Broader Community
Mayor Clare McLaughlin said council had been working with SLSSA and the WSLSC to develop the new building plans, with their development presenting an opportunity to also incorporate facilities for the broader community, aligning with the focus of the Foreshore Master Plan.
“As well as a café or kiosk, we may also look to incorporate a restaurant with a bar, and possibly other community spaces such as function and community meeting rooms,” Mayor McLaughlin said.
“Although this has been identified as a priority by the community, we are keen to minimise any impact on ratepayers, so are seeking up to $3.5 million in additional government funding to make it a reality.”
Mobile Pods / Café
Work also continues on the installation of the mobile pods, one of which will house the new foreshore café operator until the major building upgrade is completed.
“This pod will enable a café service to continue to operate even once the WSLC upgrade starts – without it, there could be no café throughout the construction period,” Mayor McLaughlin said.
“It can then be reused for other purposes, which is why we chose to invest in the pod rather than spending the allocated funds on the existing building, which is near the end of its life.”
A new foreshore café operator will be announced in the coming weeks, with Council to provide updates on the commencement of operations from the new pod space. Also, a reminder that there will be no service from the former café building in the interim, however numerous food vans – including former café operator Smokey Uppercuts – will continue to operate in the foreshore area.
Q&A
Why is Council looking to fund a new café after only just upgrading the current café building and also purchasing a mobile pod?
In 2021, the majority of the community voted to maintain a café service at the foreshore at a cost of ~$230,000 to make the facility legally compliant with the required regulations (accessibility, health, food preparation, safety and building). Council only spent a small amount of these funds on minor upgrades to the existing café building. This allowed it to be used with the exception of the kitchen facilities, requiring the current operator Smokey Uppercuts to prepare meals externally from their van (which meets health requirements). Rather than invest the remainder of the allocated funding in making an ageing asset legally compliant, council opted to use the funds to purchase a new mobile pod. Without it, there would be no café service while the existing building is rebuilt over the coming years. The pod can then also be reused for other purposes throughout the community due to its portability.
Why are you spending more than was previously agreed upon?
It is still to be decided how much will be spent on a new building, with designs still being finalised. However, the significant funding ($2.3m) received by the WSLSC presents a unique opportunity for the community. Council could not afford the entirety of funding to demolish and rebuild the facility (surf life saving and café), but could contribute to a co-funded rebuild, which is now a possibility thanks to this WSLSC funding. Council will seek government funding to not only minimise any impact on ratepayers, but also maximise the benefits of the rebuild for the community.
You’ve got the Visitor Information Centre pod at the foreshore too, are you closing the main centre down?
No, the main Visitor Information Centre (adjacent the HMAS Whyalla) will continue to operate. Given not all visitors go to the main centre (particularly when coming from the south of the city), the new pod aims to capture visitors from the jetty / foreshore and ensure they’re aware of our other attractions.
Why is the Visitor Information Centre pod located so close to the toilets?
The pod has no toilet facilities, so needs to be in close proximity of toilets for health and safety requirements. It also needed to be located where it did not impact on views for other existing facilities (ie Whyalla Boatowners etc), making the current location the most suitable.