Mornington Peninsula Council to consider sweeping changes for beach box owners
The Mornington Peninsula’s iconic beach boxes are some of the most sought-after properties in the state, but under a controversial new policy some owners may be forced to sell them.
South East
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Hundreds of beach box owners will be forced to give up their prime position on the sand under a “punitive” new policy being considered for peninsula beaches.
Mornington Peninsula Shire council on Tuesday night gave its Beach Box and Bathing Shed Policy tentative support — voting in favour of putting it on public exhibition and seeking submissions.
The draft policy proposes banning anyone who is not a resident or property holder from holding a beach box licence — and more than one licence for individuals would be banned.
Existing owners would be given until June 30, 2025 to meet the new criteria or transfer or sell their licence.
The policy would apply to 820 boat sheds and bathing boxes on council-managed beaches from Mt Eliza to Portsea.
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Of that number 229 licence holders do not own property within the shire and their rates notices are mailed to addresses outside the shire, suggesting they are not permanent residents.
There are 11 leaseholders with two beach boxes and two with three.
Cr Antonella Celi questioned why current beach box licence holders were not also considered ratepayers.
“They pay rates and a waste service fee on their beach box,” she said.
Mornington Peninsula Council director of place Niall McDonagh said beach boxes were not considered property.
Cr Celi also suggested delaying the draft policy until the Department of Environment Land Water and Planning (DEWLP) released a statewide policy on beach boxes and bathing sheds.
Mr McDonagh said there was no release date planned for the DEWLP document and the council would be able to amend its own Beach Box and Bathing Shed Policy if needed.
Cr David Gill said beach box owners were in the “unusual position of having the right to exclusive use of publicly owned land without having ownership of the land”.
“The boxes are now seen as a profitable investment instead of a privilege.”
The draft policy will now be exhibited publicly for at least six weeks and all submissions and comments received will be considered and a further report be presented to the council.
Mornington Peninsula Beach Box Association president Mark Davis said the draft policy was part of ongoing “fee gouging” by the council.
Last year the council voted to increase licence fees for beach boxes by up to 170 per cent.
The move involved scrapping a flat fee of $445 and replacing it with a variable charge of between $720 and $1200 per boat shed.
“When you add in the rates and the waste services levy, beach box owners are paying about $2000 annually. That’s more than a lot of homeowners in the area pay,” Mr Davis said.
“We’re the only group of people being made to pay to use the beach.”
He said the retrospective nature of the draft policy was concerning and many of the association’s members would not be able to keep their beach box if it was approved.
“We’ve already had some forced to sell since last year’s licence fee increase,” he said.
The draft policy would not apply to 480 boat sheds on land overseen by volunteer committees of management including structures at Dromana, Capel Sound and Whitecliffs-Camerons Bight.
Mayor Sam Hearn said it was historically the case to limit beach box licences to residents and ratepayers but rules were relaxed about 20 years ago to allow others to hold licences.
He said a return to the old rule was “a more practical approach when it comes to managing maintenance issues such as graffiti and repairs”.
“Owners who live locally are often easier to contact and can usually deal with issues sooner.
“That’s important when you consider how visible and prominent the beach boxes are.”
Cr David Gill said under existing rules a single beach box could change hands for $1 million — more than the total amount ($950,000) currently paid to the council in license fees.
“The beach boxes are being used as investments,” Cr Gill said.
“We have offshore owners; owners with two or three beach boxes; I think about 55 per cent of all owners aren’t permanent Mornington Peninsula residents.
“It’s getting away from us and we need to rein it in.”
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Cr Gill said the draft policy would make a fairer system for all beach users.
Mr Davis said only a couple of beach boxes had seven figure price tags and most sold for well under the price of a house in the region.
“For some of our members a beach box is the only way they can experience Mornington Peninsula beaches — aside from being a day tripper — because they can’t afford property in the region.”