Commercial concerns | Making sure Newcastle Ocean Baths remains a priceless place for the people

No public recognised site in Newcastle better reflects the trials and tribulations of our once great city, than the iconic Newcastle Ocean Baths and its immediate surrounds.

In late 2019, more than 16,000 citizens signed an online petition to save Newcastle's ocean baths from a perceived risk of privatisation and the imposition of a shiny new black box pavilion. This unprecedented community backlash over such a short period attracted strong ongoing denials of privatisation from Newcastle council.

Friends of Newcastle Ocean Baths Inc (FONOB) was subsequently formed to celebrate our inclusive bathing and beach culture. Its objectives include ensuring the short and longer term best interests of the diverse range of ordinary users of our baths are not drowned by powerful private commercial interests aligned with a sympathetic council.

This controversy confirmed the community's passion for retaining the unique priceless intrinsic qualities of our century young baths. This includes the overall broad building form and existing use, its charm, culture, real sense of comradeship and place, and distain for pretentiousness. We seek to ensure its core gazetted primary purpose continues as bathing and recreation, not transformed into another commercial Surf House when we already have excellent surrounding commercial hospitality facilities.

Council's 2021 Destinations Plan prioritised the baths for "reinvigoration and activation" for private sector investment. This included the general promotion of licensed food, dining and function facilities, bars and fitness centres. No surprises the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) was listed as a key stakeholder involved in the formulation of the council's plan. FONOB was not involved.

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It's here at the intersection or the competition between public interests and the private sector's relentless drive to maximise profits and returns on investment, we witness ever shrinking traditional public spaces and services. The silent sentinel of the greater public good - our baths - has become wedged between these asymmetrical, opposed interests.

Such conflicts including Supercars, the relocation of council's administration, environmental and heritage protection etc. also focus on critical governance issues concerning the transparency, impartiality and accountability of the three layers of elected government. Whose real interests do they continue to serve?

It is within this complex political environment that FONOB is seeking to protect our many members' and supporters' interests against a sophisticated and aggressive spin machine. We don't want our baths becoming a political football, a media backdrop or launching pad of inflated, but hollow, election campaigns, promises and undertakings.

We are confronted by a council and administration that appears unwilling to put all its cards on the table before the December council elections. What is it hiding?

Our members seek council to reactivate, expand and renovate the size of the existing change facilities to cater for growth in diverse pool users, including families, school kids and tourists.

In contrast, it appears council may seek to build smaller, enclosed change facilities such as those at Nobby's beach, to make more space available for private commercial uses.

Our members and users don't want to sacrifice the existing direct sunlight and natural ventilation in the change rooms, which significantly reduce the spread of COVID, for the sake of enriching private sector investments with the potential added protection against competition of 21-year leases (with an option to extend) - a de facto form of privatisation.

Readers may appreciate how lucrative private-public commercial relationships can be. But at what real price for surrounding communities and users of former public assets?

The ocean baths' users want not to become sources of bemusement for overlooking patrons of new licensed premises.

FONOB wrote to the mayor in late March 2021 seeking the council support urgent state heritage listing of the baths. It appears incongruous that our mayor supported the state heritage listing of the now privately owned former administration round-house, but apparently did not respond to our similar request for the ocean baths.

Our final unresolved concern relates to deputy lord mayor Declan Clausen's unqualified assurance that a new and costly reinforced concrete pool floor ($1.5m) and other measures would improve water quality.

While we applaud the overdue urgent restoration and making safe of the pool and concourse, a smooth concrete floor is unlikely to anchor the sand, the same as the existing natural rock-shelf that has survived the test of time.

This could contribute to dangerous reductions in the depth of the pool and promote the growth of green slime.

The baths has a worn body and restless soul. FONOB believes the baths and its many passionate and faithful diverse supporters deserve much better from the council.

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