Kingston council forced to close Cape Jaffa Marina indefinitely due to sand ingress

A regional council has decided to close a small town’s marina indefinitely, prompting strong backlash from the community members.

The Kingston District Council has announced that Cape Jaffa Marina will be closed until further notice following a September storm. Picture: Facebook

A regional council has announced it’s closing a small town’s marina indefinitely following recent storms, prompting strong backlash from community members.

The Kingston District council has announced it’s made the difficult decision to close the Cape Jaffa Marina to all vessels indefinitely due to high volumes of sand accumulating at the marina mouth following August storms.

Council said it undertook emergency works in September to remove a large amount of sand and seaweed from the marina mouth in a bid to ensure safe navigation for recreational and other vessels.

“Unfortunately in recent days further volumes of sand has accumulated and now made it impossible for any vessels to safely enter or exit the marina mouth,” the council said.

“Therefore (we have) made the difficult decision to close the marina to all vessels for an indefinite period of time while strategies are investigated to enable reopening as soon as possible.”

The Kingston District Council has announced the Cape Jaffa Marina will be closed until further notice following a September storm. Picture: Facebook

The post announcing the closure on the council’s Facebook page received over 100 comments expressing frustration over the news, with most commenters saying they never wanted the marina built in the first place and that it is had long-lasting, negative impacts on the coastline.

“Locals were proven correct, this marina should never have been built; its construction has made a huge difference to the flow of sand along the coast towards Kingston and the jetty now is mostly over the build up of sand. Mother Nature does not like being tampered with,” one person commented.

“Should never have been built in the first place, the flow-on effects it’s had on Kingston/Pinks Beach is criminal,” said another.

The Cape Jaffa Anchorage Marina was approved by the state government as a major development in 2006, with the hope that the Cape Jaffa population would grow from about 35 to 2,000 people – larger than the nearby towns of Kingston SE and Robe.

However, almost two decades later, only the first stages of the marina have been developed so far and the population of Cape Jaffa remains under 100, with just 66 people recorded living there during the 2021 census.

The Cape Jaffa Marina will be closed until further notice following a September storm. Picture: Facebook

The Cape Jaffa Marina. Picture: Facebook

The council later provided an update on the situation and defended itself against criticisms levelled at them in the comments of the previous post.

The update said the council was working through options with plans to re-open the marina “asap” before peak season, and was seeking State Government funding.

It also reminded people the marina development was not a council project, nor was it the cause of sand build up near the Kingston jetty – a belief held by many locals.

The council said a further update on the situation would be provided as soon as possible.

The State Government has been contacted for comment.