RESIDENTS and Mornington Peninsula Shire councillors have agreed to accompany each other in finding a way to reopen the Beleura cliff path at Mornington. The councillors last week agreed to spend money on both lobbying the state government for help and finding a cost effective way of restoring parts of the path, which has been closed since October 2022.
Peter Nicholson, of the Save Beleura Cliff Path group, welcomed their decision for the shire’s infrastructure department “to get on with the job of reopening the path by finding a cheap and practical way to repair the two areas damaged by landslips” (Letters to the editor, The News 23/4/24).
Before the meeting, the group had urged councillors to reject the “gloomy” view presented by shire officers and instead find a “sensible cost” way of repairing the now-closed cliff path (Council urged to find ‘sensible’ way to fix path, The News 16/4/24). At the council’s 16 April public meeting Cr Despi O’Connor said the safety risk caused to the path by the landslips was “intolerable”, “Unfortunately, one is near the start of the walk’s northern end and the other towards the end. This means walking along the path is not an acceptable risk until major works can be completed to rectify it,” she said.
O’Connor hoped the state government could see how important the path was to residents and visitors alike and help pay the estimated $10 million needed to make it safe. Meanwhile, shire officers would report back to council after asking the residents’ group for its views on how to make the path safe. “This is an opportunity to stand side by side with our community to go to the state to repair Crown land.”
Cr Debra Mar said just repairing the path would not pass the planning stage “because if climate change, sea rises and erosion”. Mar said the shire should also lobby for the 102-year-old path to be heritage listed “so it would be there in perpetuity”. Cr Sarah Race agreed that weather and storm surges should be considered. “Use this as a test case as to what it looks like to live in a world with climate change options. What will happen to cliff? It’s climate adaptation.”
First published in the Mornington News – 24th April 2024
