Portsea locals and Mornington Peninsula Council kept in dark over new erosion plan
Powerful waves have been carving chunks from the dunes at Portsea beach for years. Now, locals believe the State Government has hatched a plan to protect the crumbling cliffs — and they warn it could have dire consequences.
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A secret plan to build a permanent rock wall at Portsea would “kill any hope” of saving the iconic beach, locals warn.
Locals and Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors believe the Department of Environment, Land, Water, and Planning wants to construct an emergency rock revetment east of a temporary sandbag wall installed ten years to protect Portsea pub and clifftop houses from the advancing sea.
A recent geotechnical study commissioned by DELWP, and seen by Leader, found sections of the cliff between the pier and Pt Franklin were unstable following two years of erosion.
Emails exchanged last week between senior DELWP staff and councillors - also seen by Leader - confirm that a consultant was asked to design a “cliff toe revetment” that could be installed before curent work on repairing the sandbag wall was completed.
But in a written statement yesterday DELWP regional manager Dick Ford said the department “does not have plans to install additional protective structures on Portsea Front Beach”.
Furious locals and Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors said the earlier discussions about the proposal were proof the State Government was not serious about restoring the missing beach.
“It will be the end of Portsea beach forever,” resident Mike Wilkins said.
Mr Wilkins, who is also a member of the Portsea Coastal Advisory Group, said the proposed 100m rock wall would have a life span of at least 40 years and once installed would not be removed.
“Any marine engineer would tell you that once a rock wall is in place there is no chance of a beach,” he said.
“It would kill any hope of restoring a tourist attraction that has been an iconic state asset for a century.”
He said the notion that the beach was only for “Portsea silvertails” was misguided.
“If you did a survey of people who visited the beach I’m sure you’d find the majority came from outside the area.”
Mornington Peninsula Shire councillor Bryan Payne said the council and the community had been kept in the dark about the proposal, which defied a 2018 directive from Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio to postpone a plan to replace the existing sandbag wall with a rock revetment.
Instead, the State Government funded a $2.5 million replacement of the sandbag wall and asked the council to work with DELWP on a long term proposal to restore the sandy beach.
In December 2019 the council announced a radical $13 million plan to dredge Port Phillip Bay in a bid to reduce waves which have washed away the famous stretch of foreshore.
Significant sand replenishment and ongoing maintenance would also be required at a cost of $7 million.
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“We have a plan that we have all agreed to yet, they’ve gone behind our backs to come up with this rock wall,” Cr Payne said.
“Maybe it’s a way to dodge the $20 million bill that comes with the off shore dredging plan.”
Work on repairing the sandbag wall was expected to be finished next month.
Lily D’Ambrosio has been contacted.