The elevated sections are predominantly in front of the Harry Seidler-designed Vaucluse Waters residential building at Diamond Bay, prompting an outcry from residents who discovered contractors working on the walkway had a bird’s-eye view into their bedrooms.
An unfinished section of the Clifftop Walkway at Diamond Bay in Vaucluse.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
Vaucluse Waters resident Tony Beuk said there had been a lack of consultation about raising the boardwalk.
“We were never told the new boardwalk would allow people to look into our bedrooms,” he said.
He also said the building materials used to rebuild the walkway, which is open at night, would generate more noise.
“It’s a community asset. We’re not taking that away,” he said. “We just want to see a reduction [in height] to the ground.”
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Nemesh said the coastal walk was one of the most spectacular walks in Sydney.
“The experience should be open to all and enjoyed by all,” he said. “The new boardwalk, which is intended to last 30-plus years, needs to get the balance right between community access and openness with residential privacy and amenity.”
Last November, the council opted to lower the height of the boardwalk at Diamond Bay and remove a lookout to address concerns about privacy, noise and visual impact at an estimated additional cost of $500,000.
However, council staff warned the redesign exposed the council to legal risk.
“By removing a safe vantage point for photo opportunities, visitors may attempt to find access to those same vantage points, re-exposing them to extreme risk scenarios,” a report said.
The upgrade has been plagued with problems after landslips before the start of construction closed sections of the boardwalk.
“Construction cost blowouts have been driven by external factors such as the cost of materials and supply chain issues,” Nemesh said. “Nearly all council’s construction projects have been affected.”
Nemesh said the project may be further delayed, “but it is speculative at this stage until there is a clear and definitive resolution by council on the status of the final design”.
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