THE entrance to Portsea Pier and Newton Reserve became a hub of ideas this month as landscape design students visited to work on plans to improve the area.
The Southern Peninsula Coastal Advisory Group (CAG) hosted a meeting on 18 February with Holmesglen sustainable landscape design students at the EW Newton Reserve on the Portsea foreshore.
The group, a volunteer community advisory body established by Mornington Peninsula Shire, provides guidance on coastal strategic plans and helps communicate council projects to the wider community.
CAG members – Emily Burke, Josie Jones, Bernadette Young, Ben Cullen, Gerry Byrne, Mark Davis, and Chris Corrigan – identified “Beautify Portsea Pier and Reserve” as a high priority.
The initiative aims to enhance the entrance to the pier and nearby reserve through improved facilities, signage, landscaping, and renovation of existing structures like the toilet block.
CAG secretary Bernadette Young said while the reserve and the pier “are in a very bad state and have enormous potential to be very special spaces,” the group has been told by council there is no current budget for redevelopment.
The shire’s water and coasts coordinator Lachy Chapman welcomed the students and provided an overview of the council’s strategy.
He noted that unlike other southern peninsula areas such as Sorrento and Rye, Portsea did not yet have a masterplan.
Young said she explained that the council supports, in principle, students developing design ideas for the reserve but “it is clear that it is a Holmesglen/CAG (Southern Peninsula) project and cannot commit to implementing any of the proposed ideas, as there is currently no allocated budget for redevelopment of the site”.
Esteemed Sorrento landscape designer Fiona Brockoff, with over 30 years of experience, spoke to students about the potential of the reserve becoming “a beautifully designed coastal landscape that connects, inspires and educates the community about the unique coastal and marine environment of Weeroona Bay.”
She shared insights on working in harsh coastal environments, emphasising indigenous plant selection to support habitat, reduce maintenance costs, and withstand local winds and soil conditions.
Fiona also led students on a site inspection, pointing out opportunities for a potential viewing platform, local-material signage, and ways to enhance interaction with the site.
Holmesglen lecturer Sandra Lutke, who teaches the Diploma of Landscape Design, said students would create a concept plan and implementation plan for EW Newton Reserve, with the projects concluding in late April 2026.
Five plans will be selected to present to the CAG and community, with two potentially advancing to council.
Lutke said after the meeting that “on the way home from the site visit students were already brainstorming ideas”.
Overall, Young said the initiative represented a creative approach to community-led coastal planning, bringing student energy and innovation to a public space with long-term potential.
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 4 March 2026
