Decision details

Moved by Councillor Gannon, seconded by Councillor Chan –

It is resolved that:

(A)       Council note:

(i)         on 4 November 2021, the Premier and Minister for Planning and Public Places announced the NSW Government’s $50 million Open Spaces Program:

(a)        the Places to Swim package offers $16.7 million to better connect people to water, supporting the health and wellbeing of the community as we re-emerge from the pandemic;

(a)        the City of Sydney is eligible to apply for this funding; and

(b)        not applying for this funding would be a missed opportunity for Council;

(ii)        on 18 October 2021, the Lord Mayor announced a plan to make Sydney Harbour more accessible and safer for swimmers through a harbour baths policy;

(iii)       in October 2021 the Lord Mayor wrote to the Premier advocating for a whole of government approach to making swimming possible in parts of Sydney Harbour;

(iv)       the delivery of new harbour baths in the Local Government Area has broad support in this Chamber;

(v)        the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment applied for a grant from the Places to Swim Program for a swimming spot in Barangaroo. The City wrote to Infrastructure NSW in January 2022 in support of this grant;

(vi)       the Places to Swim Program is a three year program. Projects to be funded must be completed within 18 months of funding being received. The City is proposing to apply for funding in Round 2 once plans have been fully developed which are needed for the application; and

(vii)      the Chief Executive Officer of Sydney Water is meeting with the City’s Chief Executive Officer in March 2022 to discuss the Sydney Water Festival outcomes and agree on next steps; and

(B)       the Chief Executive Officer be requested to:

(i)         provide Councillors with a briefing on the plans to be submitted as part of the Places to Swim Program Round 2 grant application when available and update Councillors on the outcome of the grant application via the CEO Update; and

(ii)        update Councillors on future plans for the Sydney Water Festival via the CEO Update following her meeting in March 2022 with the Sydney Water Chief Executive Officer.

Carried unanimously.

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