We heard your feedback! Have Your Say on the updated draft Boatshed and Bathing Box Policy 2020 After extensive consultation with the community earlier this year, Council has incorporated your feedback and updated the draft Boatshed and Bathing Box Policy 2020. You’re now invited to provide your thoughts on the updated draft Policy.
The draft Policy aims to: • protect and improve coastal land for the benefit of all users, including boatshed and bathing box licensees. • set out the rights and responsibilities of boatshed and bathing box licensees. Changes implemented after community feedback include: • Licensee eligibility • Connection of utility services • Graffiti removal • Asbestos managemental • Renewal of licence at end of term.
How to have your say Second round community consultation closes 5pm Monday 21 September 2020. Online
mornpen.vic.gov.au/haveyoursay
Hard copy consultation forms available upon request. Email your submission with the subject line “Boatshed and Bathing Box Policy” to: haveyoursay@mornpen.vic.gov.au
Nominate a local hero
2021 Australia Day Local Awards The search is on to find Mornington Peninsula’s most dedicated, generous and community minded people. Do you know someone whose contribution to our community deserves to be recognised? Acknowledge their contribution by nominating them for the 2021 Australia Day Local Awards.
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Southern Peninsula News
NEWS DESK
Nominate for: • Citizen of the Year • Young Citizen of the Year • Community Event of the Year Nominations are currently open and close Friday 6 November 2020.
Nominate them now!
9 September 2020
mornpen.vic.gov.au/ausdayawards 5950 1137
Picture: Celia Furt
Hands that feed can be deadly IN what seems an unlikely scenario, birds, particularly seabirds, have become collateral victims to the coronavirus pandemic. Untold numbers of disposable but not biodegradable face masks are entering the environment, adding to the already overwhelming pollution of beaches and waterways. And people heading to the beach for exercise or just quiet contemplation, are offering birds tidbits and snacks that are not part of their normal diets. Processed foods, such as bread and mincemeat should not be on the menu. The birds may be killed out of kindness. Disposing of the masks, which can take years to break down, has become a massive problem world wide. Not only are discarded masks potential spreaders of the coronavirus (research shows that under certain conditions viruses can survive up to seven days on plastic masks), but they are also a danger to wildlife. Masks can smother the environment and are ingested by animals which sometimes cannot distinguish between plastic and their prey.
If ingested, masks and other plastics swell and fill an animal’s stomach. Smaller animals can also become entangled in the masks. Disposable masks should be placed in rubbish bins and not with recyclables. Photographer Celia Furt worries that pelicans at Hastings are being fed “highly toxic food”. The birds have long been a natural attraction at Hastings, readily taking cast-offs from fishers. But with the loss of those readily available morsels the birds are quite happy to try whatever is on offer and Furt has photographed pelicans being fed “pizza, bread, anything but fish”. “Since the lockdowns and the work that has been happening on the boat ramp, the fishermen can’t go fishing so the pelicans rely on humans to feed them. They hang out in the parking area with the seagulls,” she said. “The big issue is that pelicans only eat fish and they are only built to eat fish. If they eat bread or pizza or fries, they can’t digest it and, at the end of the day, it will kill them.” Keith Platt
Camp sites, car parks to go in Rye plan CONCEPT plans for the redevelopment of the Rye foreshore are on display and open to public comment until 5pm Friday (11 September). Mornington Peninsula Shire plans to upgrade the promenade, park and camping areas as part of a $6.5 million Rye township plan. The latest plan shows the promenade linking the northern end of Napier Street to the Rye pier providing what officers say is “both a physical and visual extension of the pier”. A deck extends from the pier to the land where a pedestrian crossing at Point Nepean Road leads to the Napier Street plaza. New outdoor furniture, public art and lighting are expected to enhance the promenade which “frames views to the bay and creates pedestrian zones for social gatherings, play and respite”. Car parks next to the pier will be redesigned for public open space and parking with the aim of “improving usability and turning the park into a Rye attraction”. The foreshore park will have a playground, lawns, seating, shade structures and picnic facilities, improved walking and cycling links and an upgraded Bay Trail. The camping ground, which takes up much of the foreshore reserve, became a popular holiday spot in the 1940s and has since “become ingrained in the local culture of Rye”. However, the plan sees the camping area as limiting the potential of the foreshore park and campsites ill be removed from between Weir and Lyon streets. Lloyd Borrett, who owns The Scuba Doctor Australia in Peninsula Avenue, organised a petition against the plan which by mid-last week had received more than 800 signatures. Mr Borrett said local dive shops and other major users of the pier were not consulted about the proposed changes to the pier, promenade and park.
He says the plan discriminates against scuba divers and the disabled who require easy access to the pier. “Currently, pier users can park a disabled-friendly 50 metres from the entrance to Rye pier. The new plan forces them to park at least 175 metres away, and possibly up to 290 metres away,” he said. He said a “huge amount” of money could be saved by leaving car parking areas where they are. Online forms and the draft concept plans are at mornpen.vic.gov.au/haveyoursay. Email submissions with the subject line “Rye Foreshore” to: ryetownshipplan@mornpen.vic. gov.au Stephen Taylor