The Entrance Boat Shed: Owners urge council to dredge the channel
It’s been an institution at The Entrance for the past 100 years and now the Boat Shed is in danger of closure.
Central Coast
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Thick weed, the silted up waterway, poor water quality and diminishing tourists will eventually force the closure of The Entrance Boat Shed.
Owners Toni and Terry Moon say their days are numbered if Central Coast Council don’t act to dredge and improve The Entrance Channel.
In an open letter to be presented to councillors at Monday night’s meeting in Gosford, Mrs Moon says the Boat Shed “must close”.
“It is with a heavy heart and true sadness that I write to you today,” she wrote.
“I must now inform you that due to the outrageous and deteriorating condition of our Lakes and indeed the channel our 100 year old historic boatshed must close. This historic Boat Shed is the last of its kind anywhere in NSW.
“We can struggle no longer, years of incompetence have taken their toll. As 2020 looming so does the terrible prospect of closure.”
Councillors Bruce McLachlan and Greg Best will submit the letter with a request that council urgently take action to avoid the closure.
Mr Moon said the ideal scenario for the business is for council to dredge, clean the waterway and open the Channel.
“We have no water flow,” he said.
“The thick weed has gone right under the shed. It is rotten and smells like sewerage. People smell the place and they just don’t come back.”
He said a local business owner has offered to dredge the sand at no cost in exchange for the sand.
Mrs Moon said the way council had chosen to manage The Entrance channel was “simply a disgrace”.
“We now find ourselves in an impossible and financially devastating situation, the flow on effects on tourism and on local business will be considerable,” she wrote.
“Councillors in my view you have done little more than to standby and fiddle while Rome has burnt. How dare you, you have stolen our future.”
The Boat Shed has been calling on the council to properly dredge since February 2018, as their boat keels started scraping the sand.
The council started dredging in April 2018 and was ordered by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to cease dredging in November after an alleged pollution event.
In January 2019, an island emerged in the channel due to the build up on sand and the Boat Shed owners again called for more dredging through a mowing stunt on the island.
A council spokeswoman said the council had completed its dredging in November 2018, removing 45,000 cubic meters of sand from the Channel.
“Dredging is undertaken, on average, every two years and the sand removed from the channel is used to combat natural erosion at The Entrance and North Entrance beaches,” the spokeswoman said at the time.
“Council uses a fixed camera to continuously monitor the sand within the channel and completes sand surveys when required to determine the most appropriate timing for subsequent dredging programs.”