Mornington Peninsula beach box owners slam ‘gouge’ as council flags huge fee hike
Owners of iconic beach boxes dotted along Mornington Peninsula foreshores are livid at a move by the council to dramatically increase fees, claiming they’re being targeted as a lucrative source of income.
South East
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Licence fees for beach boxes on the Mornington Peninsula could soon more than double.
Owners pay an annual fee on average of $445, but this has been slated to increase up to $1200.
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council mayor David Gill said beach box owners should pay their fair share.
“It’s a privilege to have a beach box and should not be treated as a sense of entitlement,” he said.
Cr Gill made the comment as the council moved to dramatically increase the licence fee.
The move — likely to be ratified at a council meeting this week — has led to a fierce backlash from beach box owners.
Mornington Peninsula Beach Box Association president Chris Maine said the council was unfairly targeting owners.
“It’s a massive gouge. They have targeted boat sheds as a lucrative and captive source of income and they are flogging it,” he said.
“They say they have benchmarked their licence fees. It’s a flawed calculation they have made.”
But Cr Gill said more than 50 per cent of beach box licences were owned by people who didn’t live in the municipality.
“Beach boxes sell for hundreds of thousands for dollars,” he said
“Ratepayers should have a fair return on the use of public space for private beach boxes,” he said.
“Beach boxes have become more popular because they can be treated like a property portfolio without land tax being paid.”
There are about 1350 beach boxes in Mornington Peninsula with around 800 on council managed beaches.
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The council’s property and strategy manager Nathan Kearsley said the single licence fee was proposed to be replaced with a tiered fee structure based on the size of the bathing box.
“Fees and charges are reviewed as part of the budget preparation process.
“The licence fee structure included in the proposed budget 2019/20 has been revised to reflect the variety of sizes of bathing boxes, rather than charging a flat fee,” he said.