Sharks apply for family play area and pool on deck of revamped leagues club and for amplified live music, including bands, until 10pm

A "small" pool is proposed for the north-western area of the deck, adjoined by casual dining areas.

As part of the town centre development, the existing leagues club will be refurbished and extended by way of the north-facing deck with views over Woolooware Bay above the first level of the shopping centre.

Cronulla Sutherland Leagues Club has submitted a development application (DA) for new features added since earlier approvals.

The ground floor will include reconfigured administration offices, amenities, storage, plant and food and beverage service areas.

Level two will have dining, cafe, lounge and gaming areas, entrance foyer (there will be an elevated road from Captain Cook Drive), club merchandise store, storage, food preparation areas, staff and patron amenities.

The club deck, which will also be on level two, will include bar and patron seating areas, screen, family play area and pool and shade and weather protection structures.

Level three will feature function rooms, pre-function areas, terraces, kitchen and amenities and new, small terraces on the northern and southern sides.

The DA seeks consent "for use of the club deck from 8am to midnight, seven days per week, on a trial basis and to permit amplified music on the deck to occur until 10pm with no restriction on the type of music permitted (i.e. including live bands)".

"It is important to note that the club has been operating from the site for nearly 50 years, and is intended to play a central activating and community-building role within the future Woolooware Bay Town Centre, and this ongoing role has been reflected in communications to and contractual relationships with future residents," the DA said.

An extract from the sales contract with apartment buyers was included in the DA.

The contract "acknowledges that at times, through the use and enjoyment of the Deck Area, the property might be affected by light spillage, excessive noise, pedestrian and / or traffic congestion and unruly behaviour at any time and that the Deck Area may be subject to future development..."

The DA said, under the council's 2015 Development Control Plan (DCP), Woolooware Bay Town Centre was identified as a "Low Activity Area".

"The only other centres that are subject to a blanket 'Low' rating are Kareela, Bangor, Jannali and Illawong," the DA said.

"Woolooware Bay Town Centre is unique within the shire and southern Sydney by providing a major, national-standard stadium, hotel facilities, offices, district retail and housing side by side in a location with high amenity.

"The centre is a truly mixed-use precinct that supports activity throughout the day and evening, with the existing development consents for this precinct sitting in direct contrast to the 'Low Activity Area' rating

"This has included the ability of the developer to legally notify future residents of the Club's ongoing operations, including of potential amenity impacts arising from the operation of the Club Deck, and to indemnify against any potential complaints regarding these ongoing impacts.

"This capacity to gain agreement and acceptance by the surrounding future community of the importance and likely impacts of the club's ongoing operations is a unique scenario within the shire and this should be given significant weight in the assessment of any potential impacts arising from club operations.

"On the basis of the above, it is considered that the current 'Low Activity' DCP rating is wholly inappropriate and that Woolooware Bay should more appropriately be assessed as a High Activity Area.

"The longstanding operation of the club and its demonstrated track record of responsibly managing its operations and patron behaviour, including in both indoor and outdoor areas, means that it is not appropriate to treat the club as a new premises in this assessment.

"Notwithstanding this, the club is willing to accept the imposition of a trial period on the extended operation of the Club Deck in the first instance to demonstrate that this area can be operated without adverse amenity impacts.

"By way of reference, Cronulla RSL operates in a similar mixed-use environment in which it is permitted under a modern development consent to operate within outdoor areas between 7am and midnight on a permanent basis.

"The Cronulla Sutherland Leagues Club is considered to be of at least equivalent scale in terms of its management capacity and operational record in terms of its ability to properly manage the outdoor area to mitigate against potential noise impacts.

"Having regard to the above, it is noted that the proposed trading hours for the Club Deck of 8am to midnight are consistent with the extended outdoor hour provisions for High Activity Areas under the DCP."