A message from the Mayor about our beaches

27 April 2020 | News

UPDATE 1.07pm Monday 27 April

As Waverley Council prepares to provide access to the water at our beaches from tomorrow for the sole purpose of exercising, I want to remind the community about our strict measures. Remember Waverley is still a hot spot and presently has the highest number of COVID 19 cases in Australia.

Firstly, Waverley Council is NOT reopening its beaches. Our beaches remain closed to all land-based activities including social gatherings, sunbaking, walking and jogging.

Our strict ‘Swim & Go’ and ‘Surf & Go’ measures at Bondi and Bronte beaches and ‘Surf & Go’ measures at Tamarama Beach will provide a safe way for local surfers and swimmers to exercise safely in the water. The red and yellow flags will not be up as the beaches remained closed and people enter the water at their own risk.

Access to the water will be between the hours of 7am and 5pm on weekdays via designated entry and exit points managed by Council Rangers and are designed only for surfers and swimmers for exercise. The Council will, however, review these measures on an ongoing basis, including whether to provide access on weekends.

There will be no relaxing or gathering around on the sand. The sand remains strictly off-limits other than for access to the water for exercising.

The measures have a strong emphasis on social distancing and if residents do not adhere to the conditions of these measures or follow the instructions of our Rangers or Lifeguards, then the Council will have no choice but to remove all access to the water.

Surfing will be permitted at Tamarama and Mackenzies Bay but the beach remains closed to swimmers and all land-based activity. As per Public Health Orders, all public ocean pools, including Bronte Pool, remain closed.

We are counting on our surfers and swimmers to do the right thing, take personal responsibility and to follow our strict measures to ensure we can provide an avenue for these residents to exercise. We will continue to carefully manage these measures on an ongoing basis and will work with the Police to ensure that social distancing is enforced.

And as the term ‘Swim & Go’ and ‘Surf & Go’ suggests, surfers and swimmers must exit the water as soon as they finish exercising and return home. This is consistent with our messaging around exercise, which is stay at home where possible, and if you must exercise outdoors, please observe all restrictions. Remember, these measures are not designed for people to have a dip or paddle or for children to play on the sand.

Lifeguards will continue to patrol Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama beaches between the hours of 7am and 5pm to provide water safety. Surfers and swimmers will be responsible for their own safety when they enter the water. Our strict measures are not for paddlers and casual bathers.

We are counting on the community to do the right thing so that we can continue to provide safe access to the water for exercising.

Click here for our FAQ about our 'Swim & Go' and 'Surf & Go' measures.