Stairs to Birdrock Beach, Mount Martha closed for almost two years

Fed-up locals are considering drastic action to get back on a Mornington Peninsula beach.

The Birdrock Beach stairs have been closed since December 2022. Picture: supplied

Furious locals are threatening to build their own stairs to a Mornington Peninsula beach that has been “impossible” to reach for almost two years.

The Mount Martha action group says the local council has ignored their pleas to fix the 200 stairs to Birdrock Beach leaving beach goers to tackle a “dangerous” ramp to get to the sand.

Group spokesman Sharon Forrest, who lives opposite Birdrock, said she and her grandchildren had been unable to visit the beach since December 2022, when the council fenced off the damaged stairs.

Birdrock Beach is off limits for most including Sharon Forrest and her granddaughter (pictured). Picture: supplied

The only other access was a steep ramp about 250m from the stairs.

“It’s really only suitable for a personal trainer or a goat,” Ms Forrest said.

“I know of at least two people who have been hurt trying to use it, one strained their achilles and another twisted their ankle.”

The community had hoped Mornington Peninsula Shire would include funding to fix the stairs in its recent budget.

However, the project failed to make the cut.

An online petition started on September 6 calling for the stairs to be repaired has garnered more than 200 signatures and Ms Forrest said volunteers were also lining up to get the job done.

“We’ve got chippies and concreters and engineers willing to do the work,” she said.

“All we need is some supervision from the council.”

The stairs to Birdrock Beach in Mount Martha have been closed for almost two years. Picture: supplied

Ms Forrest was told by a council officer in October 2023 that it would cost about $360,000 to fix the stairs.

“That’s a drop in the ocean when you consider the $1.4m the council spent on a paid parking trial,” she said.

Liberal MP for Mornington Chris Crewther and opposition spokesman for the environment James Newbury have visited the stairs and also called for action with Mr Crewther raising the matter in parliament this week.

“This neglect means the beach is inaccessible for most,” Mr Crewther said.

“This is not just about local amenity, but also about tourism, mental health and more.”

Mount Martha councillor Anthony Marsh said residents wanted to see the shire invest more in local coastal infrastructure.

“Our amazing coastline is one of the many reasons we love living here, but we can’t take it for granted,” Mr Marsh said.

“It would be great to see the council exploring innovative ways to engage locals to assist in small projects like we have in the past.

“Our community is skilled and willing, we just need to find a pathway to make it happen.”

A walking path along the coast between Mount Martha and Mornington is also in need of repairs. Picture: supplied

A sign updating the community about the repairs blamed storms, climate change and rising sea levels for deteriorating coastal infrastructure.

“Unfortunately across the while shire these are complex and expensive issues to remedy and beach access will not be restored quickly,” the sign says.

Sign at Birdrock Beach. Picture: supplied

Mornington Peninsula mayor Simon Brooks said the $360,000 quote to repair the stairs was a “high level cost estimate”.

“Unfortunately, with so many competing priorities and a constrained budget due to rate capping and State Government cost shifting, we were unable to fund it this year,” Mr Brooks said.

“It will be resubmitted for potential funding next year and considered at the mid-year budget review.”

Mr Brooks said it was “great to see our community wanting to get more involved” and the council would be happy to discuss any proposals put forward.