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The clubrooms are vital to ANA's existence providing a secure toilet/change room area, gym, storage and our main function area where the club holds its Sunday breakfasts and after row sessions, social functions and regular committee meetings. 

Bayswater Council have submitted detailed plans to the Swan River Trust who have in turn opened them for public comment.  Disappointingly, the only way the club found out about the proposal for the City of Bayswater to demolish its clubroom was through the public comment process initiated by the Swan River Trust.  If the notice in a local paper had not been spotted by club members we would still be oblivious to the Councils intentions.  

The City of Bayswater have been approached in relation to this lack of consultation and in particular over why:

• There was no prior communication with ANA Rowing Club over the application lodged;

• There is no provision in the building design for replacement of the amenities provided by the building to users of the rowing and kayaking facilities on the Reserve; and

• The application does not indicate in a balanced manner the existing use of the building – making no reference to its use as a clubrooms or the long term lease over the building and even describing it as unused!

The Direct of Planning has provided a less than satisfactory response to the above matters, verbally indicating that the Council did not want the application to go to public comment and trying to rationalise that the design does not reflect amenities for rowers and kayakers as the Council was “only trying to see what would be possible for development of the site”.  Surely if this was the case then a design incorporating existing use would have been submitted.

The Club is very concerned over the intentions of the City of Bayswater as there has been extensive discussion with council planning officers in the past over requirements of the building – these have been ignored in the development application.  Bayswater Council have subsequently advised that ANA Rowing Club will be consulted prior to any development taking place.  However, given current performance the Club is concerned that it may have no influence on any development or even continued access to clubroom facilities despite holding a 28 year lease over the building.

Rowing WA, who are the head lessee on the clubrooms which has another 28 years to run, have not been consulted either.  Rowing RA have strongly supported ANA's concerns about the proposed development and the effect it will have on the future activities of the only rowing club readily accessible to the northern suburbs.

Click to enlarge picture.

Apart from losing our clubrooms if the demolition did go ahead, the proposed new building would also be moved closer to the river bank.  The area is extensively used for teaching beginners and on race days which will cause significant potential conflict of use in what is only a small section of riverbank suitable for launching boats.  The photo opposite shows typical use of the area in front of the clubrooms during one of the five regattas that are held at the club every season.  It is clear that the reduction of this space and the natural extension of tables and chairs out into this area from a commercial operation would make running a regatta virtually impossible.

Boating by crews on weekends along with the regular Sunday learn to scull program would also be made significantly more difficult by the reduced area in front of the clubrooms.  Increased power boat traffic to this area is an additional consideration, with attempted mooring of boats from the beach likely to see all rowing crews forced to use the small beach area on the other side of the jetty on weekends which apart from only being of sufficient size to launch one eight, conflicts with the kayak boating and Perth College.