MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire have voted in support of a three-year service agreement with St Andrews Beach Recreation Club, which will provide a pathway towards club-led management.
At the 1 September council meeting, councillors unanimously supported the recommendation to enter into the three-year agreement.
The shire currently maintains the hall and open space at an annual cost of approximately $51,000 and has spent around $121,000 in improvements over the last five years.
The club advised the shire it doesn’t have the capacity to independently manage the facilities as usage and hall hire remain low.
The service agreement will provide short-term support and help the club build the capacity to move towards independent management.
Cr David Gill, who moved the motion, said the overall view of St Andrews Beach is that it “doesn’t receive much return from the council”.
“Virtually every other facility like this in the shire and in most places around Australia has been taken over by local government because local populations couldn’t afford the maintenance and renewal of those facilities,” said Gill.
Gill said the three-year term gives the beach club time to get back on its feet or provides an opportunity to further consider the club’s future.
“They’re contributing enormously to their local community, and only in recent times are we really contributing for them,” said Gill.
“Now is, I suppose, a time of reckoning to see what the future lies for St Andrew’s Beach and what role council will have… and come up with hopefully a good answer for that community.”
Cr Max Patton said the open space at the club is extremely important as it allowed for NinchFest to take place.
“We saw exactly what the peninsula community is about, drawing people of all ages and backgrounds from across the peninsula to celebrate arts and culture right in the heart of the St Andrews community,” said Patton. “It was a perfect demonstration of what is possible when council supports groups exactly like this.”
Patton said the club has recently built padel courts, which he suspects will be incredibly popular.
“In my mind, that’s a club reinventing itself and building an income stream, which is precisely the capability this agreement is asking them to develop,” said Patton. “It seems they’re already well on their way, and this agreement hasn’t even been struck. I look forward to watching their successes over the coming years.”
Cr Michael Stephens congratulated the committee on their work raising the funds for the padel courts.
“This is such a positive example of passionate community members working hard to raise $260,000 needed to add padel courts,” said Stephens. “Ultimately our most important work revolves around empowering local community to drive projects they want to see in their communities.”
President of St Andrews Beach Recreation Club, Anne Lee, said they were “very happy” with the shire’s decision to continue assisting the club.
“We have had an ongoing agreement with the shire to open our recreation grounds, including green space, barbeques, playground, pétanque pistes, and hall, to all residents and visitors in our surrounds for the last 15 years,” said Lee. “Our grounds are highly valued and enjoyed by all.”
Lee said the extension is made with the expectation that the club becomes fully self-funded at the end of the three years.
“This, of course, means the maintenance and includes the maintenance of the large grounds, hall, ablution block, playground, and barbeques, for the continuing enjoyment of all in the community,” said Lee.
The shire will provide up to $50,000 annually in maintenance support over the next three years. The club must work collaboratively with council to implement a transition plan and provide biannual status reports outlining its progress towards financial stability.
First published in the Mornington News – 15 September 2026
