IN the latest instalment of Future Adelaide, we explore how our beach communities are safeguarding their today, and looking ahead towards tomorrow.

OPEN FOR ALL OR IS EXCLUSIVITY A TOURIST DRAWCARD?

A decision on whether Glenelg beach will host a private bar again this summer is expected as early as next week, as Liberal ministers throw their support behind the concept.

But privatisation of Adelaide’s beaches continues to draw fierce opposition from Labor and local residents along the city’s coast.

Speaking as part of The Advertiser ’s Future Adelaide series, Tourism Minister David Ridgway said the decision to allow private ventures on public beaches was for local councils but argued the Glenelg beach bar had proven a drawcard for visitors.

Environment Minister David Speirs said he personally liked temporary venues which added vibrancy as long as they did not “dominate” a beach.

The owners of the Moseley Bar & Kitchen at Glenelg ran a European-style beach bar over 11 weeks last summer.

The group has applied to Holdfast Bay Council for approval to bring back the bar, which occupied 750 sqm of sand near the jetty, from November 16 and March 17 next year.

That would be 47 days longer than its debut run.

Council staff are preparing a brief for councillors to debate at their next meeting next Tuesday.

Mr Ridgway said the decision was “ultimately … one for local council” but noted that more than 30,000 people attended the Moseley beach bar last summer.

Mr Speirs, whose electorate of Black covers beaches at Seacliff, Marino and Hallett Cove, said: “As long as it is not something that is permanent, I think there’s some value in it but you wouldn’t want it to dominate Adelaide’s beaches”.

Labor environment spokeswoman Susan Close, who represents the Port Adelaide electorate which takes in Semaphore, Largs Bay and North Haven beaches, said successive state governments had “recognised the importance of the beach being … accessible to all” and that should continue.

“The idea that we would allow private companies to make money for access (to our beaches) is an anathema to our way of life and what makes us an attractive tourist destination,” she said.

Last summer Charles Sturt Council was approached by Henley Beach Business Association chairwoman Gemma Antunes to cordon off a section of sand for a private venue.

Henley Square businesses would have paid to use lounges and umbrellas to serve people food and drinks on the beach on Fridays and Saturdays.

A spokeswoman for the council said there had been no applications for similar ventures this year.

Western Adelaide Coastal Residents Association president Jim Douglas said his members were “totally opposed” to traders roping off any part of Henley Beach for a private “elite paid eating and drinking den”.

A pop-up bar also operated at Christies Beach last summer, at the end of Beach Rd.

Onkaparinga councillor Hazel Wainright said visitors had “loved it” but locals had been put off by “very loud music and a mess left afterwards”.

THE BEACH FOR EVERYONE

Families are travelling from far and wide to access Seacliff’s disability-friendly beach — and councils and surf clubs across the state are following the lead.

Seacliff Surf Life Saving Club’s accessible mat helps people with mobility issues get down to the shore, and its water wheelchair is allowing some to play in the surf for the first time.

President Andrew Chandler says the club plans to offer a second wheelchair, hoist and disability-accessible changerooms to increase the number of people it can help have fun at the beach.

That will form part of a $230,000 upgrade of its observation tower and equipment storage area.

“The number of people that have said this is the first time their child has been on the beach since they were really young, or at all — it’s really exciting.”

Mr Chandler hopes to see a day when every surf life saving club offers mats and water wheelchairs so “no matter where you live, the beach is accessible to everyone”.

Surf Life Saving SA community manager Sita Bacher says that day is moving closer, as Adelaide’s councils and other clubs move to replicate Seacliff’s progress.

“Surf Life Saving SA are working with lots of partnership organisations, including councils and disability access groups, to help us manage accessibility for everybody.”

Semaphore beach has a permanently rolled-out mat and, from October to March, a beach mat and three inflatable wheelchairs will be available at Henley Beach.

Mrs Bacher says in Onkaparinga there are several beaches with vehicle access, which allow people with mobility issues to drive right to the water’s edge.

Students from Suneden Special School are among children to have benefited from Seacliff’s water wheelchair and mat, including Eloise, 14, who has Down syndrome.

Her mum Mel Godfrey, of Morphett Vale, says Eloise has flat feet and walks with a gait, and the mat helps her negotiate the soft sand.

The surf club has run a series of sessions for the Mitchell Park-based students, which cover beach safety and having fun using equipment such as paddleboard.

THE COASTAL BIKEPATH — STAYING ON TRACK

The vision to build a continuous 70km shared recreational trail along Adelaide’s metropolitan coastline is making steady progress — but plenty of obstacles lie in wait on the path to completion.

The SA government has been committed to creating a Coast Park from Sellicks Beach to North Haven since the turn of the century — an unbroken linear park and shared public path to promote recreational use and enjoyment by Adelaide residents and tourists alike.

The 3m wide trail is designed to allow prams, cyclists, wheelchairs and joggers enough space to pass one another safely.

The ambitious program started in 2001 but is unlikely to be completed for another decade, with some unfinished sections not scheduled to start until 2020 or later.

Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) has been working with six councils to complete the path.

About 45km has been built and 25km is either under way or still to be constructed.

The initiative is being delivered in stages through a series of individual projects undertaken by local government with funding support from state government — $43.3 million so far.

“The majority of the northern section of the Coast Park trail is now completed or under consideration”, says a DPTI spokesman.

“There are still significant sections of the southern suburbs which are to be planned and implemented, including Aldinga Beach to Sellicks, Moana to Port Willunga and Lonsdale to O’Sullivan Beach”.

He noted that as the overall project has a staggered delivery schedule, remaining sections may not yet been designed or costed, adding: “The State Government will continue to consider funding applications from local government to support planning, design and implementation of remaining stages”.

The councils facing the some the biggest challenges in finalising the pathway in their precincts are Charles Sturt in the north and Onkaparinga in the south.

The section still to be completed in Charles Sturt is short — about 3.2km between Terminus St in Grange and Third St in Semaphore Park.

But the Coastal Ecology Protection Group took Council to court to block construction of a path and boardwalk across a environmentally sensitive dune area, forcing council back to the drawing board.

Mayor Angela Evans said: “The time frame for work to commence is uncertain at this stage. There is a need to undertake further ecological studies and consult community on proposals for this section, and consider each proposal in the context of its impacts on the environment, local amenity and financial viability”.

Ms Evans said that both the council and the new State Government wished to see the Coast Park completed.

“Despite the outcomes of last year’s court proceedings, and in speaking with community members, council is buoyed by the desire of many within the community to create an accessible cycling and walking link along the entire length of our coastline,” Ms Evans said

Onkaparinga, which is responsible for largest section of the Coast Park, has delivered over 12km of the 31km within the council area.

Operations director Kirk Richardson said: “Some of the remaining stages are challenging and will require careful planning that considers issues of land ownership, native vegetation, cultural heritage, cliff stability and coast protection.”

The timing of future works will depend on negotiating these “complex issues” and state and council funding.

TONSLEY TECH

TRAINING a tech-driven workforce and getting into the supply chain early will ensure the Tonsley precinct makes the most of the $40 billion defence spend, leaders say.

Sage Automation chief executive Adrian Fahey said Tonsley companies needed to work together to get ahead in the developing industry.

“Bringing together like-minded tech companies in a precinct like Tonsley encourages people to collaborate more into the defence industry,” Mr Fahey said.

“We’re certainly working hard to position ourselves to be in the supply chain.”

Mr Fahey added Sage was partnering with TAFE SA and Flinders University to identify what skills students needed to be ready for a technology-driven workforce.

Flinders University professor John Spoehr said their naval architecture and ocean engineering degrees, business partnerships and a training agreement with aerospace company BAE Systems were preparing local students for jobs in defence.

“There are valuable long-term career opportunities for graduates,” Prof Spoehr said.

He added those opportunities existed in engineering, robotics, autonomous systems, business management, freight logistics and international relations.

Tonsley’s involvement in the defence industry would also set up surrounding suburbs for growth, according to Tonsley Precinct director Philipp Dautel, who said there was a potential for a residential boom.

“Marion can offer an affordable lifestyle near the beach … (and) schools, childcare or shopping precincts,” Mr Dautel said.

Local businesses needed to start making strategic alliances to get involved with defence projects now.

HOW HOLDFAST BAY IS COPING WITH AN AGING POPULATION

New community programs and extra care services are helping Holdfast Bay tackle its ageing population.

State Government statistics show nearly 30 per cent of the district’s residents will be over 65 by 2026.

Holdfast Bay chief executive Justin Lynch said the area already had the highest concentration of people over 65 in the state.

“We’re working … with Flinders University to determine how dementia-friendly our community is,” Mr Lynch said.

The council was also working with the SA Health and Medical Research Institute on a plan for improving the wellbeing and resilience of its elderly residents.

Mr Lynch said Holdfast Bay already offered programs such as a community bus and a scheme that matched volunteers with locals who needed help looking after their pets.

Councillor Annette Bradshaw said the council would need to consider widening footpaths in some areas, to address the increasing number of people riding gofers.

She added the council was already considering gofer charging stations as part of its $20 million Jetty Rd upgrade.

Meantime, more than $19 million in aged care development proposals were lodged with Holdfast Bay in 2017 — the largest aged care investment since 2012.

Rick Kluge, general manager of the Hove-based Alwyndor Aged Care, labelled the situation an “age tsunami”.

“If we keep going the way we’re going it will be the biggest expenditure — health and aged care — within 15 to 20 years,” Mr Kluge said.

Alwyndor was also working to help people stay home for longer, through house-based care programs.

Among those people was 84-year-old Bill Jolley, of Hove, who receives help with his cleaning, ironing and meals.