The goal to make the Parramatta River swimmable again is one step closer after the City of Ryde received a grant from the NSW Government to build a new in-river swimming site at Putney Park. The project will reinstate baths at the Park site, which was the original home for the first in-river swimming area in Ryde in the 1920s.
The City of Ryde, in partnership with the Parramatta River Catchment Group – an alliance of State and local government agencies and community groups – has a stated objective to make the Putney Park site – among others along the river – swimmable by 2025.
The NSW Government will help achieve this through $698,475 in funding made available via the Open Spaces Program grant funding under the Places to Swim stream.
Places to Swim supports councils to create places for the community to enjoy Sydney’s rivers, lakes and harbour through improved access to water for swimming and other recreational activities.
The NSW Government funding will enable Council to provide swimming infrastructure, install safety mechanisms and provide a brand-new water playspace at the site for all residents and visitors to the City to enjoy. It also seeks to improve access to the community as we grow into the future and provide opportunities for cooling down close to home.
City of Ryde, Clr Jordan Lane, said the in-river swimming site would open Parramatta River up to the community.
“Making Parramatta River swimmable again has been a long-stated objective by Council and the Parramatta River Catchment Group, and the funding we have received from the NSW Government will ensure it now becomes a reality,” Clr Lane said.
“I would like to acknowledge the support from the NSW Government for this project. It is fitting that the Places to Swim program will help create one of the first new swimmable sites on the Parramatta River in the City of Ryde.
The creation of the Putney Park in-river swimming site follows Council’s installation of new beach activation steps in 2021 to improve community access to the foreshore area and there is a suite of future measures planned for the site to enhance the regional parkland.
