Randwick and Waverley Councils have lodged their joint merger proposal to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) in response to the NSW Government’s Fit for the Future program.
The merger would create a new eastern suburbs council area with a population of 216,000 residents from Vaucluse to La Perouse, and is expected to deliver cost benefits over 10 years of $103 million.
“After completing extensive, detailed analysis and community consultation, Waverley and Randwick Council have today finalised and submitted our joint merger proposal that is in-line with the NSW Government’s Fit for the Future criteria,” Randwick Mayor Ted Seng said on Monday.
“The communities of Randwick and Waverley share strong ties.
“We are both coastal communities taking in the Sydney Coastal Walkway and iconic Sydney beaches.
“A Randwick-Waverley merger will result in a larger council capable of providing quality services and facilities and partnering with the State Government on regional matters.”
Waverley Mayor Sally Betts said the councils already work together on a number of environmental initiatives.
“When we consider sub-regional planning issues, our new partnership will play a very important role.
“Our communities have told us that they would prefer to stand alone but if mergers must happen to meet the scale and capacity criteria, then they would prefer an eastern suburbs council rather than a global city involving City of Sydney.”
Community consultation found support for retaining a coastal council with 90 percent favouring an eastern beaches council if mergers must happen and only 5 percent choosing a global city.
If approved by the NSW Government, the new council area would be the third largest population in NSW and the 11th largest in Australia.
With a combined Gross Regional Product (GRP) of $11.8 billion, the Randwick-Waverley merger will be the seventh largest council area contributing to the NSW economy.
The merger proposal includes options to include Woollahra and Botany Councils.
