Mayor Clover Moore wins the Ranter 2025 Sydney Pool Upgrade award.

Mark Bowyer

28 Sep 2025 • 3 min read

Shiny and new - Andrew Boy Charlton Pool has reopened better than ever. © Mark Bowyer

Sydney’s iconic swim spots have been in the wars. Budgets and schedules have blown out in development projects at two of the best - North Sydney Pool and Nielsen Park. So the timely completion and recent reopening of Andrew Boy Charlton Pool on Sydney Harbour, is a win for Sydney City Council, the leadership of Mayor Clover Moore and the people of Sydney. It was unexpected after a run of pool upgrade disasters. Ranter reckons it deserves an award.

Back in 2021 during the COVID crisis, North Sydney Council commenced an upgrade to its beautiful, historic pool, with a budget of $64 million and an intended completion date of November 2022. It all looked a bit heavy-handed for a precious piece of Sydney heritage - even back then.

Four years later, the cost has doubled and the delivery has been pushed back to early 2026. The blowouts are a disaster for North Sydney council finances - residents are paying of course. The long closure is a loss to the city and a terrible blow to public confidence in council administration.

Interminable debacles rule at North Sydney's incredible pool "upgrade" © Mark Bowyer

And when it’s completed, I’m still worried some of the unique heritage features of the old pool complex will be lost forever.

Sydney’s swimmers also faced long delays following the closure of another iconic swimming spot - the Nielsen Park harbour beach in Vaucluse back in March 2022. The budget for the Nielsen Park work almost doubled to 11 million and completion was 2 years late.

The less well-known but well-loved Epping Aquatic Centre at Dence Park is also in the wars. It closed for an upgrade that was poorly costed. It may or may not bring comfort to Epping locals to know that this one hasn’t commenced construction yet so they can still rethink it - but closure brings big community frustration. Parramatta Council is wrestling with its options.

In 2024 another historic pool, Andrew Boy Charlton in the domain, closed for an 18 month planned upgrade. I was skeptical. I wouldn’t have been alone. I’ve watched in dismay as other favourite swimming spots have closed for so-called upgrades across Sydney.

When work commenced, there was little confidence the project would be completed on time © Mark Bowyer

Check out the videos I’ve posted of favourite swim spots over the years.

These sorry tales left me assuming I wouldn’t be returning to Boy Charlton for years. Happily I was wrong. Last Sunday, after a delightful wander in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, I returned to Andrew Boy Charlton pool for a mid-spring dip. Was so good to be back. Get yourself down there!

Thanks Clover and thanks City of Sydney! Well done! In recognition, we're giving you a Ranter Award for Excellence in Swimming Infrastructure Timely Completion. These are rare and coveted. One of our best swimming experiences is back!