By Lachlan Abbott
A home owner who admitted to building an illegal seawall on a Frankston South beach in front of his $9.25 million house says he will rip out the construction works after being surprised by a public backlash.
Gene Neill said on Tuesday he would respect a stop-work order that Frankston City Council had emailed him on Monday night after locals raised concerns at the weekend about his build near Oliver’s Hill Lookout.
Gene Neill says he was building a seawall to stop erosion, but admits he didn’t have a permit.Credit: Simon Schluter
“I’ve offered to rip it all out and just replant and let the landslides continue,” he said. “We’ll put the house on the market and sell it.”
Neill said on Monday that he had no choice but to build a seawall without a permit because it was impossible to get one and erosion was threatening his house, which property records show he bought in December.
He has since said he will relent and remediate the incomplete seawall works following attention from locals, media and Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke.
“It’s just getting out of hand and getting really, really uncomfortable here. It’s really a storm in a teacup,” Neill said.
“All we’re trying to do is protect our property, and it’s like we’re not allowed to do that. We don’t need these problems. We don’t need the hassle. We’re taking the easy way out.”
He said it was still unclear where the boundary between his property and the public beach was, and a surveyor would assess it on Wednesday.
“I’m the only one on the foreshore here that doesn’t have a wall,” he said on Tuesday. “Because [neighbours have] the wall, they’re not getting any erosion.”
On Monday, Neill said of the wall: “If they let everyone else do it along here, I’ve got to be able to do it.”
It is unclear how long concrete structures in front of neighbouring properties to Gene Neill’s have been in place.Credit: Simon Schluter
Neill previously said he had put aside $400,000 for legal fees in case he was prosecuted over the wall, which he described as emergency works due to erosion about 20 metres away that he said would impact his house by 2060.
He told 3AW on Tuesday: “I can argue with the council. I can argue with the government. I cannot argue with Port Phillip Bay.”
Neill insisted his project was “first class” and was required now because he couldn’t get home insurance. Some vegetation has been removed, and a ramp was created to give workers access to the seawall construction site, but Neill said a landslide caused shoreline damage before he bought the home.
“When you buy a house … you might spend half an hour or something here. But we noticed the landslide after we moved in,” he said.
Neill asked who would mitigate the risk of foreshore landslides now that his seawall works had been stopped. He pointed to a January landslip in McCrae as evidence of what could go wrong – although that hill was larger, was not directly on the foreshore, and the landslip fell onto a house.
“What I’m doing is not ugly,” Neill said. “It’s really good. It looks fantastic.”
However, he said: “If I had known that it was going to be pushed this hard, there’s no way I would have done it.”
On Tuesday, Edbrooke welcomed Neill’s decision to remediate the seawall.
Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke at Frankston pier.Credit: Wayne Taylor
“Frankston is a friendly and beautiful community, and we take great pride in Frankston beach and protecting our environment,” he said.
“As a local MP, I will always stand up to defend Frankston. I welcome the landowner’s decision to remediate the land and fix the damage that was done.”
On Monday, Frankston Council chief executive Phil Cantillon said the council had issued several notices demanding construction cease after becoming aware of the project two weeks ago.
“Council has no record of what vegetation has been removed or what is being constructed,” Cantillon said in a statement posted on social media. “However, it is now apparent a significant area of vegetation has been cleared and a seawall (and potential retaining walls) are being erected.”
Edbrooke on Monday said more than 50 constituents had raised concerns with his office at the weekend about the “quite brazen” construction.
He said the beach in front of Neill’s home was “not the prettiest” but was still used for activities such as dog walking.
“It’s still public beach, and it’s a beautiful part of Frankston,” he said.
Neill said some locals had been supportive, but those who said the situation showed “rich people get away with doing whatever they like” were “just totally wrong”.
A surveyor will assess where the boundary is between Gene Neill’s home and Crown land on Wednesday.Credit: Simon Schluter
“I work 12 to 13 hours every day. It’s not anything that I haven’t deserved. People [who say] stuff like that ... [are] quite disheartening,” he said.
The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action confirmed approval was required to develop marine and coastal Crown land, and none had been given near Neill’s property.
A department spokesman said: “We’re working with Frankston City Council as the land manager to address the illegal coastal works and restore the foreshore to make sure there is no risk to the public and to ensure appropriate use of Crown land that belongs to all Victorians.”
With Alexander Darling
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