Ageing facilities put beach safety at risk, lifesavers warn

But the volunteers also face challenges on land, with a club house that has a leaking roof, lacks storage for surf boats and is so cramped that meetings have been held in the storage area for rescue boards.

Basil Scaffidi???, the president of Bronte Surf Life Saving Club, said the 43-year-old building was physically deteriorating and struggling to cope with the increase in members and demands for more training and equipment.

As lifesavers prepare for the first patrols of the season on Saturday, Mr Scaffidi said the ageing building, which opened in 1974 before women were admitted as full members, was making the task of protecting beachgoers difficult.

"The current club house makes it very difficult for us to undertake the role we do and this is helping the lifeguards save lives," he said.

Neighbouring Tamarama SLSC is also housed in an ageing building that was last renovated in the 1970s.

Tim Murray, the president of the Tamarama SLSC, described the building as no longer fit for purpose.

"Simple things like the toilet and change rooms are no longer able to meet the requirements of the club," he said. "The roof leaks and the building is in terminal decline; repair bills grow each year."

Mr Murray said the club, which had a development application approved in 2013, faced annual maintenance costs of $15,000. It is seeking to raise $4.5 million to rebuild its facilities, with government funding sought for half the cost.

"When we rebuild our club we can generate new revenue streams from venue hire that will help us to manage the building maintenance ourselves long term," he said. "We need a once-off capital injection in order to make our club longer term sustainable."

Mr Scaffidi estimated Bronte SLSC needed around $5 million to renovate its club house - funds it had to raise for a building it would not own.

"It's abhorrent as you can imagine that we need to go and raise the money as we are simply the tenant," he said. "There is a lot of discontent from other clubs that do not believe we should be responsible for all of the funding."

Most surf clubs, including Bronte and Tamarama, are situated on Crown land managed by the local council; some others are on land owned by Surf Lifesaving NSW.

"You would think it would be almost mandatory for governments to find some revenue to help them upgrade their surf clubs," Mr Scaffidi said. "Surely saving even one life, you can't put a value on that."???

A NSW government spokeswoman said in a statement that surf clubs occupy buildings on Crown land for minimal rent, while responsibility for major repairs sit with the council and not individual surf clubs.

She said funding for building upgrades had been doubled to $4 million in the 2017-18 budget, with $24 million handed to surf clubs in the past decade.

There are year more than 120 surf clubs and 77,000 volunteers in NSW, according to the Authorising surf life saving clubs' use of Crown land in NSW issued by the Department of Primary Industries.

Bronte and Tamarama surf clubs are situated within Waverley Council, which earned around $150,000 from the filming of the latest series of Bondi Rescue.

"This forms part of Council's general revenue and is a small proportion of the funds required to provide lifeguard services and other beach safety activities," said a Waverley Council spokeswoman.

She said the council was responsible for the repair and maintenance of external issues including the roof and fa??ade of club buildings.

She also said the council had allocated $750,000 in the past to each of its four surf clubs - North Bondi, Bondi, Tamarama and Bronte - to assist with building projects.

Mr Scaffidi said that money had helped refurbish the club many years ago but the council at this stage had not committed any new funds towards the major redevelopment.

A spokeswoman for Surf Life Saving NSW said funding had been provided to clubs following a 2015-16 audit to assess compliance with statutory and regulatory conditions.

She said SLSNSW "would welcome and encourage additional support of Surf Life Saving Clubs in NSW".

The consequences of not replacing ageing club houses were serious, she said. "Taken to the worst case scenario it would mean that the service provided to the community would cease."

"However, the organisation has been around for 110 years and we are confident that support from the community and government will continue to enable surf clubs to upgrade and maintain their facilities so that our volunteers can keep performing their vital role in protecting the public on NSW beaches."

The writer is a member of the Bronte SLSC.