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Council a finalist in Victorian Coastal Award

Bass Coast Shire Council: finalist at Victorian Coastal Awards.

By Portal Admin - 27th May 2018 - Back to News

Bass Coast Shire Council was a proud finalist the Victorian Coastal Awards, last week, for its coastal erosion work at the Inverloch Surf Beach.

The Awards were held at the Encore, St Kilda and hosted by the Victorian Coastal Council on Thursday night, 17 May.

Over recent years the Inverloch Surf Beach has experienced significant wave erosion damage, impacting the main beach access track and the Inverloch Surf Life Saving Club’s Observation Tower.

Bass Coast Shire Council Deputy Mayor, Cr Brett Tessari explained the urgency by which Council had to work to rebuild the main beach track at Inverloch and relocate the Observation Tower.

"When the facilities were closed a lot needed to be done in a short period of time and summer was looming," Cr Tessari said.

"Both the track and the Observation Tower are important to the community for recreation and safety purposes.

"One of the most pleasing aspects of the new pathway is that it now allows beach access to people with limited mobility. Since completion of the track the Disabled Surfers Association of Australia has hosted two surfing events at the beach. Such access was not possible using the former pathway."

Cr Brett Tessari attended the Awards and said Council brought community and government departments together to address the issues.

"Council would like to acknowledge the contributions of the Inverloch Surf Life Saving Club and Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning who all worked together to get a good outcome for the local community. It was a real team effort," Cr Tessari concluded.

Another direct factor in the successful outcome was Council’s ability to work with the natural environment, coastal processes and potential sea level rise, rather than working against nature.

The new beach access path was constructed along a new alignment with flatter contours than the original track. This reduced potential impacts of erosion on other nearby infrastructure such as the lifesaving club building and car park. It also minimised the need to construct expensive protective structures.

The track design also allows for easier retreat in the event of further erosion in the future and the Observation Tower is relocatable to allow for future environmental changes.


Coordinator Coastal and Bushland Management Derek Hibbert, Bass Coast Shire Council Deputy Mayor Cr Tessari and Manager Community Health and Wellbeing Claire Smith at the Awards.

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: support@gippsland.com