Benjamin Millar
Efforts to protect Hobsons Bay’s foreshore will be stepped up following adoption of a new management plan to guide the future of coastal and marine areas.
Councillors recently voted to adopt the Hobsons Bay Coastal and Marine Management Plan (CMMP) and to write to the environment minister seeking its approval.
The Hobsons Bay foreshore runs from Stony Creek Backwash near the West Gate Bridge in Spotswood to Skeleton Creek in Altona Meadows.
Management is shared between Hobsons Bay Council, the Bunurong Land Council, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), Parks Victoria, Melbourne Water, and the Port of Melbourne.
Development of the plan began in late 2018, but the process was paused due to the introduction of the Marine and Coastal Act, picking up again early last year.
A council report noted that the plan has been developed to provide a strategic direction guiding the future management, use, development and protection of Hobsons Bay’s coastal and marine environments for the next ten years.
“This plan will ensure that the community can continue to enjoy using Hobsons Bay’s beaches and open public spaces along the coast and be assured that these areas will be protected well into the future against increasing pressures from urban growth and a changing climate and environment,” it stated.
A draft version of the plan went on public exhibition in March and April, attracting feedback from stakeholder groups, key agencies and the public.
Key themes identified by the community included the need to reduce litter and pollution entering Port Phillip Bay, increase enforcement of dogs on beaches and tree vandalism in coastal areas, improve public safety along the shared trail and increase environmental protection.
Responses to social media polls found 91 per cent of people thought there should be more trees and vegetation planted along the foreshore and 72 per cent wanted to be involved in helping to deliver some of the plan’s actions.
