Thousands join campaign to stop Mornington Peninsula council from introducing new beach box policy
The beach box battle is gaining momentum as owners from Werribee South to Portsea join the fight. Here’s their next move.
South East
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More than 2000 beach box owners around Port Phillip Bay have joined forces to demand Mornington Peninsula Shire be stripped of its rights to manage the foreshore.
Port Phillip Beach Box Association (PPBBA) claimed the council’s plan for Mornington Peninsula beach boxes was a breach of its powers as a committee of management for the foreshore.
But the Department of Environment Water Land and Planning said the council had done nothing wrong.
The council recently announced a plan to ban anyone who was not a resident or property holder from holding a beach box licence — and prevent individuals from holding multiple licences.
Under the draft Beach Box and Bathing Shed policy existing owners would be given until June 30, 2025 to meet the new criteria or transfer or sell their licence.
In a letter to Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio PPBBA president Mark Davis said the policy would also give the council the right to increase fees “without any regard to a reasonable cap or relationship to the existing fee schedule”.
He said legal advice sought by the association found it was “obvious that the council is acting with a flagrant disregard to the guidelines and to the Crown Land and Reserves Act itself”.
The Association asked Ms D’Ambrosio to investigate the council’s behaviour and “seriously consider” replacing it with a community based committee of management, similar to existing groups that look after other coastal reserves.
However, DELWP said that the guidelines were there to help committee of management in their role and were not policy.
The authority said the council was not in breach of the guidelines.
“DELWP is aware of concerns that have been raised over the draft policy, has met with the council and plans to work with them, as they finalise their policy, to understand how these concerns are being addressed,” a DELWP spokeswoman said.
The PPBBA represents 2500 beach box owners including those from Brighton to Portsea, across the bay in Werribee South and on the Bellarine Peninsula.
Mr Davis said Mornington Peninsula Shire looked after the most beach boxes in Victoria – 823 and received about $2 million in revenue including lucrative licence fees.
If the council was allowed to proceed with its current plan, it would set a precedent for “punitive treatment” of all boat shed licence holders, he said.
Mornington Peninsula Shire has been contacted for comment.
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