Beach box owners fuming after huge fee hike by Mornington Peninsula Shire Council
Owners of iconic beach boxes dotting foreshores around the Mornington Peninsula are reeling after the council approved massive fee increases.
South East
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A massive fee hike on beach box owners has got the green light from Mornington Peninsula Shire Council.
Councillors last week backed the plan, which will see licence fees for beach boxes rise by up to 170 per cent.
Mornington Peninsula Beach Box Association president Chris Maine said the increase was neither fair nor equitable.
“The majority (of owners) will be stung and hurt. There will be extra overheads to meet,” he said.
“If the council can increase beach box licence fees by 170 per cent, then who’s next?”
Council’s move will scrap a set fee of $445 in favour of a variable fee that would see it increase from between $720 to $1200 per boat shed.
Cr Antonella Celi slammed the hike as an unfair gouge.
“I cannot support this sudden and marked price gouge from $445 to $1200 without due process and consultation,” Cr Celi said.
She urged councillors to back a “workable modest flat rate license fee rise” of $950.
Deputy mayor Rosie Clark said she had previously owned a “simple shed on the beach”.
Being at the boat shed and walking on the foreshore helped during tough times, she said.
She said that boat sheds were used to promote the Peninsula.
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But other councillors said the huge fee hike was warranted because the boat shed owners effectively had “exclusive use” of public land.
Mayor David Gill said the sheds were often portrayed as part of a property portfolio.
There are about 1350 beach boxes in Mornington Peninsula with around 800 on council managed beaches.