Celebrate safely in Waverley

As 2020 draws to a close, Waverley Council is reminding residents and visitors to observe all current Public Health Orders and health advice when celebrating with family and friends.

After consulting with Police, Waverley Council has made the decision to cancel its New Year’s Eve event at Dudley Page Reserve, Dover Heights, but will have Police and Council officers on site throughout the afternoon and evening to control any large gatherings or anti-social behaviour including the consumption of alcohol.

Mayor of Waverley, Paula Masselos, said the decision to cancel the event was based on a number of factors including the cancellation of 9pm Sydney Harbour fireworks, a reduced fireworks display at midnight as well as the challenges presented by holding an event requiring people to be seated at all times.

“While an upcoming change to the NSW Public Health Order will permit up to 3000 people to be in a ‘controlled outdoor space’, Dudley Page Reserve cannot safely accommodate this number of patrons with adequate physical distancing,” Mayor Masselos said.

“After careful discussion, it was agreed by all parties that cancelling the event was the safest option but most certainly we look forward to when it’s safe enough for restrictions to ease and we can all come together as a community to celebrate.

“2020 has undoubtedly been one of the most challenging years in living memory, and while we all want to let our hair down a little, we need to comply with Public Health Orders and continue to reduce the risk of community transmission of COVID-19 through our behaviours so that we can return to some sort of normalcy in the very near future.”

Due to the lockdowns and restricted access arrangements that are in place at all other City and Eastern Suburbs vantage points, Dudley Page Reserve will be fenced off and closed as well as and Caffyn Park.

Fences will be installed at both parks on Wednesday 30 December, with access to be maintained until Thursday 31 December. The parks will be fully closed, and access will be completely restricted from 4pm on Thursday 31 December until 1am on Friday 1 January.