Locals are wondering when the promised North Sydney Olympic Pool will be finished.
With work on the site beginning in March of 2021, the redevelopment project has been continuously pushed back and has run over budget. As The Post reported last year, North Sydney Council commissioned an independent review of the project by consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers. The review found that Council did not adequately manage risks associated with the project delivery, that the budget would be extended as a result of poor decision-making and management.
Even though work began in early 2021, redevelopment of the North Sydney Olympic Pool was approved by Council in July of 2013. Since, consultations, development application submissions, expressions of interest, and detailed design documents have filtered in and out of Council concerning this pool redevelopment. Ten years of planning and approval processes have left Sydneysiders here, in January of 2024, awaiting the completion.
After the independent review, the updated date of completion was April 2024. Completion is now being advertised as the vague period of “mid-2024”, however locals are sceptical whether this is likely.
In community groups on Facebook, the redevelopment has become a laughingstock. Facebook users are commenting that the pool should never have been touched, and jokingly predicting that locals will be enjoying the pool for December 2034.
Features of the redevelopment include upgrades to the existing 50metre and 25metre pools, a kids waterplay area, a new warm water pool for gentle exercise, an expanded gym, a larger creche, a grandstand holding almost 1000 persons, ramp access to the pools, and accessible change rooms.
North Sydney Olympic Pool’s reopening was first promised for the summer of 2022, then assured for the summer of 2023, but will most likely not be enjoyed before summer in 2024 to 2025. Unfortunately for the locals of North Sydney, they have waited three years, in the heat, for a project with a dubious end.