Their campaign has prompted Infrastructure NSW,which is responsible for Barangaroo,to explore the opportunity for a swimming area.
“Different locations and formats for a swimming area are currently being explored as part of this review,” the agency said. “If the opportunity progresses to a feasibility study,Infrastructure NSW will consult with the community and stakeholders for their input.”
Swimming or bathing has been banned in the harbour at Barangaroo,on the western edge of Sydney’s central business district,since the Barangaroo Delivery Authority Regulation 2015 came into force.
Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes said he would love for the public to be able to swim in the harbour at Barangaroo. “In Copenhagen and Paris they open their waterways for the summer – our weather is so good we could do it all year round,” he said.
“There are few things more quintessentially Australian than stripping down to your cossie or boardies in the summer and diving straight in.”
Key independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich said it was incumbent on the government to give the public greater access to Barangaroo,and a harbour swimming spot one way to achieve that.