CONSULTATION for South Gippsland Shire Council’s new Coastal Strategy is continuing, with an online discussion and another four community pop-ups occurring before the end of the month.
The Coastal Strategy will provide strategic direction for South Gippsland’s coastal areas and help guide sustainable land use and development.
The document is expected to be vital for our coastal communities as it will help us to understand, and plan for, future challenges such as increasing demand for residential and commercial development in coastal areas, climate change risks and ageing infrastructure.
Cr Nathan Hersey, Mayor South Gippsland Shire Council, is encouraging community feedback.
“Our coast is an important part of South Gippsland’s identity and is loved by locals and visitors alike,” said Cr Hersey.
“We recognise however, that there are a lot of pressures facing our coastal communities and we need to plan now for current and future challenges.
“Popularity of our region has increased significantly in recent years, so it’s a good time for us to get out there and listen to our community and consider different ways to protect and interact with our much-loved coastline and coastal townships.”
To ensure the Strategy reflects the views of the South Gippsland community, an extensive engagement is currently being undertaken until January 31. Two community pop-ups held earlier in the month at Port Welshpool and Sandy Point proved popular, with close to 100 survey responses collected.
The shire’s Coastal Strategy stand will be ‘popping up’ again soon at:
- Toora: Saturday, January 21, Lion’s Den Market (8am – 11am)
- Venus Bay: Saturday, January 21, Overflow Parking Area, Corner Jupiter Boulevard and Centre Road (12.30pm – 3.30pm)
- Tarwin Lower: Thursday, January 26, Australia Day BBQ (12 noon – 3pm)
- Stony Creek: Tuesday, January 31, Stony Creek Races (11pm – 2pm).
There will also be an online discussion hosted at 6pm on Thursday, January 19 for anyone who would like to talk to someone about the Strategy but is unable to attend one of the face-to-face events.
Feedback can also be supplied online via Council’s Your Say platform. Here you can access a survey or contribute thoughts to the ideas board or community discussion. You can find out more, or submit feedback at: https://yoursay.southgippsland.vic.gov.au/
Possible actions
The discussion paper lists possible actions under four categories:
Environment and Landscape
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Identify current and anticipated coastal hazards and their effect on our coastal communities.
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Investigate the ‘Common Ground’ community initiative that proposes nature-based adaptation concepts to assist with managing storm surge, flooding and coastal erosion.
- Work with and advocate to State and Federal Government for nature-based solutions to manage the impacts of coastal hazards.
- Collaborate with the State Government and our community to investigate the suitability of applying protection controls.
- Seek State and/or Federal Government support for the preparation of coastal hazard assessments.
- Develop community awareness and education of vegetation protection that balances bushfire safety.
- Advocate for clearer communication of coastal hazards and climate change risk to our coastal towns in State Government policy.
Population Pressures and Development
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Explore removal of our coastal township growth areas from the planning scheme and retain township boundaries.
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Explore a new Planning Scheme provision that restricts new development to one dwelling per lot and restricts subdivision.
- Explore with our coastal communities their interests and concerns about township character, protection and change.
Development Infrastructure and Management
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Prepare a coastal infrastructure position to guide our decision making that aligns with the State Government’s Marine and Coastal Policy.
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Partner with State and Federal Government to investigate options and issues with seawalls and coastal levees.
- Work with our partner agencies to resolve issues of ground water bores impacting on residential development.
- Transfer land management responsibility for coastal Crown land from Council to State Government.
Community and Economy
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Continue to work with Indigenous communities and State Government to protect cultural heritage in coastal areas.
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Support policy that creates greater community connection and supports health and wellbeing in coastal communities.
- Support policies that help grow sustainable and prosperous main street businesses in our coastal townships.
