Portsea beach: Sea baths should replace sandbags to bring back tourists
After fighting for more than 10 years to have their beach restored, peninsula locals are now looking to Bondi for a stylish solution.
South East
Don't miss out on the headlines from South East . Followed categories will be added to My News.
An ambitious plan to bring a little Bondi to the Mornington Peninsula is gathering steam.
Portsea locals want to swap the ugly wall of seabags at the town’s front beach for swanky sea baths similar to Sydney’s iconic Icebergs.
Nepean Voters Action group member and local councillor Sussan Bissinger said the glamorous idea would “make Portsea great again”.
“It would be a huge attraction for tourists and locals alike, a great asset to the coastline for generations and will definitely halt erosion,” she said.
She has hired an architect to create concept drawings and is floating the scheme with investors.
“Ideally the Victorian government would fund the project, as money is so cheap at the moment – we may also be able to pass the hat around to help out a little.”
Cr Bissinger said instead of a single restaurant like the famed Icebergs Dining Room and Bar she imagined a kiosk where swimmers could order food ‘uber style’ from Portsea eateries.
“This is something all Portsea business should benefit from, not just one operator,” she said.
The idea is not a Mornington Peninsula Shire initiative but Cr Bissinger, who was recently elected to Nepean Ward, said she hoped her position on council would help her advance the plan.
Cr Bissinger said locals were ready to embrace a different idea after years of fighting to have the missing beach restored.
“The sand isn’t coming back. People are ready to look at a new plan now,” she said.
The front beach has been steadily washed away over the past 10 years and many blame dredging undertaken as part of the Port Phillip Channel Deepening Project for the erosion.
Since 2010 at least $8 million has been spent on measures to fix the problem including the $2.5 million replacement of a sandbag wall in 2019/20.
The wall was first erected a decade ago as a buffer between the Portsea pub and clifftop houses and the advancing sea.
Cr Bissinger has also written to the Department of Environment Land Water and Planning about her idea.
In a written response DELWP said it had investigated the potential for sand renourishment, rock revetments, seawalls, offshore breakwaters and dredging to reduce the effects of erosion on Portsea front beach and foreshore.
“The Victorian Government has determined that no option has been identified that is cost or technically effective in managing coastal hazards at Portsea front beach while meeting community expectations of restoring the beach condition. Given this, following the completion of the sandbag wall repairs earlier this year, DELWP does not have any plans to investigate further options at Portsea front beach,” the letter states.
However, DELWP “remained open to consider emerging proposals”.
